Chapter 5 - Little Blue Bird
Written by Demod20 and LastationLover5000
There was very few reasons why the castle would be suffering an attack so soon after they had taken the job handed out to them by Fiore's crown royalty. Doranbolt figured that the most likely conclusion, of them all, was that the band of thieves had struck and they were just lucky enough to be poised in a position to help repel their assault. There was little time to consider any other alternatives but to search Mercurius from top to the bottom and root out the perpetrators of this attack and hopefully stop them from succeeding in their endeavors.
In a split instant, the three had moved past obstacles such as floors and doors, appearing instantly in their fourth companion's room. Max Alors was in a disheveled heap, seemingly shifting with discomfort with a facial feature of someone wrestling with his own personal demons. But due to the circumstances at hand, Doranbolt grasped the man by his collar and shook him urgency.
"I-I didn't do it!" Max Alors woke up with a start, his body flinched defensively and his face caked in cold sweat.
"Max, its just us," Wendy implored with a scared look on her face. "I'm sorry we woke you, but the castle is under attack!"
"Oh!" The sandy-blonde haired man cleared his throat, wiping away the sweat and sighing with relief he wasn't to be arrested. "Wait, the castle is under attack? By who?"
"That's what we're going to find out," Charle responded, her face forming a pensive expression as she floated passively with her wings spread out from her small, rounded back. "I didn't have a vision about this so this whole thing feels uneasy. Things are happening too quickly and we have no real information about what the Robin Hoodlums are like or what their abilities are."
"We can't stand by and let them hurt people!" The cobalt haired Slayer exclaimed with clenched fists, a determined glint shining in her eyes that made Max stare transfixed and Charle nod with a slight smile. "They must be stopped!"
"Agreed," Doranbolt nodded. Eyes closed, he placed a pair of fingers up to his right temple and began to stretch his senses outward. "I feel a number of magical signatures inside. Larger ones are in key points of the fortress, while a good deal of the rest are in packs of four to five. Two are in the lowest levels, two above us, and another is within the main level. In total there seems to be almost thirty or more of them."
"Damn, we're sorely outnumbered here!" Max hissed between clenched teeth, his hands shaking at his sides. "I'm starting to feel underqualified for this job..."
"None of us are qualified," Charle bluntly commented, one eye closed while the other stared straightly at the nervous beige haired mage. "But we're here because Fiore - no, Fairy Tail needs us. We have no choice but to push forward, no matter how hard it gets."
"I-I know, alright! I'm just a bit freaked out, is all!" He snapped back, his hands raised up to gesture with emphasis. "No offense, but there's only three of us. And I don't know about you, but I've never taken a job higher than B on my own for a reason!"
"A-And why don't I count?!" Charle began to object, her eyes bulging and a vein bulging across her snow-colored head.
"Because you're a cat that flies!" Max balked.
"I'm an Exceed, not a common cat!" She rebuked fiercely.
"Well excuuuuuuuuuse me! Here I vastly underestimated you because you're clearly so much better than I am!"
"Why you-!"
"We don't have time for this," Doranbolt interrupted with a swing of his hand. His eyes now staring harshly at Max with a glare. "If you don't feel up for it, stay here where its safe. We're going, now and we can't afford to delay for another minute."
"Please, Max," Wendy pleaded, her brown eyes staring up at him, bringing the blue-collared man's face to stunned silence. "I can't do this without help. I'm not brave like you were when you stood up for me. But I have to do it, even though I'm scared. Can you still help, even though you're afraid?"
Grimacing, the brownish-blonde haired man raised his hands to scratch at his scalp fiercely. Lowering them down to his sides he hung forward, and sighed with resignation.
"I can't say no to you, Wendy," He smiled weakly, raising a fist up with forced spirit. "Its time I helped out too! Let's go kick these bandits in the ass!"
"Alright," Doranbolt said as he smiled with relief. "Grab a hold. I'm going to teleport us to the one at main level."
Grasping his hand, Wendy maintained a hardened look while Max placed a nervous hand on the striped shoulder of the former Council agent. And with Charle placing a paw on his other shoulder, the man focused on the signature...
...they shimmered out of the room...
...appearing in the middle of the spacious hallway, leading to the throne room. There, they were greeted by a grim scene that turned Max's stomach and brought out a horrified squeak from Wendy. Armoured guards were left sprawled in bloodied heaps, some twisted in odd angles while others had missing limbs or had their heads removed outright. They numbered up to two dozen, and the sound of fighting had yet to cease as the conflict raged around the outline of a large man while they were continuously being thrown back by the force of his counterattacks.
"This is-!"
"A massacre," The teleporter confirmed with gritted teeth. Tearing his eyes from the abundance of murder, he looked up to see the culprit responsible. He was large, practically standing twice the size of the soldiers he was cutting swathes through. Dressed in a vermilion coat with white ruffled collars matching his handkerchief collar tucked into his jacket while wearing armoured pale white tight leggings that fastened into leather dress shoes. From the wrist up, one could see the gargantuan man had a sword in place of a hand, replicated to be fitted for his length and girth, swinging around to parry the soldiers' own blades and cutting through the pole-handles of spears that were sent to thrust at him.
"Amazing! I've cut so many down and you still haven't given up!" He let out a deep-throated laugh, raising his blood-soaked blade up to his face. In a flash of light, it was replaced by a ichor covered hand; one he dragged a tongue over, lapping it up grotesquely to the disgust and horror of the handful of soldiers left. With a deep groan released from his throat, the timbre of his voice inflected a sadistic hunger as he inquired with a tilt of his pronounced chin. "Come on. Are you all done now that I've cut your comrades down?"
Death.
The sight of it brought flashes of harsh memory to the fore of Wendy. Her breathing became strained, shaky even. Eyes dilated and her face paled. Even while Charle turned to look concerned at the girl, she felt something unusual about her. Something was throbbing within the Slayer's body, like a crescendo of deep heart beats that compelled something within her core.
"Oh well," The man grinned, raising his arm up, another flash of light and it became from the elbow up the handle to a very large mallet. "I might as well as well smash these bugs into paste!"
"Wendy, let's-"
Doranbolt didn't even have time to speak to the girl before she was gone. In a blast of Wind that ruptured the flooring, she took off in a blue streak of whipping hair with an undercurrent of green from her dress.
Amidst his swing, the murderer barely had time to react as - from his own gaze - he saw the outline of what looked like a white-winged Dragon soaring towards him, made incorporeal from the amassed sudden burst of Ethernano that trailed with the spritely sized girl's frame.
"UNGH!" He grunted aloud, his free arm barely raised to deflect a deceptively powerful but small fist. His heels skid across the floor, the sleeve of his jacket torn asunder and his body stumbling back from the sudden impact. Looking over at the girl as she softly landed onto the floor, her eyes contracted and pupils were sharpened into razors, as a fierce current of wind kicked up around her flourishing dress of green, her hair swirling around with it.
"Where did she come from? I swore I didn't sense her until now," The man thought aloud, looking down at his now exposed arm, seeing a sizable bruise ebbing hissing steam from the point of impact where her fist met his forearm. "She moved so quickly, I didn't have time to dodge," He noted, his eyes looking up at her with narrowed eyes, his voice ebbing a decadent baritone as he began to put the pieces together. "That familiar Magical Aura...could she be one, too?"
"H-Hey-!" One of the guards began to say, the other too stunned to keep supporting his legs as he dropped to his haunches at nearly being pulverized to death. "You're that Mage from Fairy Tail!"
"Yeah, she's the Dragon Slayer!" Another spoke, a smile - for the first time since this chaos unfolded - breached this guard's face, his beard showing teeth as he raised his shattered blade up with joy. "Yeah! She'll kick your ass now!"
"Wendy!" Charle rushed up in a swift flight to hover by her shoulder, her face filled with concern. "You gave me a scare when you rushed up like that! What's gotten into you?"
"No more," She muttered under her breath, barely audible by the roaring current of Wind that she was summoning forth. Eyes transfixed on the large brute in nice attire, observing him as he recomposed himself back up to his substantially larger height. "I won't stand by and watch people die when I could have done something. Not again...no, never again!"
"Wendy..." Her Exceed partner mouthed out, unable to find it in herself to bring her friend in by the reins.
"She's right," Max stepped up, running up to the soldiers and helping one off his haunches while looking to the others. "We got this! Go! There are other places that'll need your help!"
"With our broken weapons?" One of them asked incredulously.
"What good are we?"
"You're alive!" Max grabbed one of them by the chainmail collar, pulling him in to show a fierce expression despite the sweat covering his face from the fear he was swallowing. "There's always something the living can do! Go and find help! Go to the armoury to resupply! Do something, anything better than sitting on your thumbs watching like a bunch of scared spectators!"
The large murderer began to sway in long-legged steps, his countenance as if someone was on stilts rather than human appendages. With a humored grin on his face, he raised his hand up-
SHINK!
-and in a flash, formed a peerless blade, giving off a subtle hum as it released a majestic glow from the flat of its metallic surface.
"I'll need a higher caliber of weapon to deal with a Dragon Slayer," He rumbled out, swinging his blade to his side. In a blink of his eyes he'd suddenly see a fist rushing straight into his face. A loud crack followed up with the man bending back from the impact.
Max and Wendy would look on with amazement, seeing Doranbolt's body bend in midair, twisting around to throw a foot up at the leaning skull of the large man's skull. When the murderer turned around in spite of his bowed posture, he'd see with surprise as his target vanished, reappearing at his opposite sword-wielding flank to throw a backhanded set of knuckles into his temple. Grunting aloud in pain, he'd finally be thrown off his feet, ending with a teleporting kick straight into his crimson-coated abdomen, sending him veering off into the side of the hall with a loud crash.
"We don't have time to deal with this cautiously," The scarred mage announced as he dropped to his feet, his body bent over in anticipation. "Go to the treasury, everyone. I'll handle this man on my own."
"N-No!" Wendy exclaimed, her Aura lessening to normalcy as she saw the man she had grown close to in the past week. "Come with us! I don't want to lose you too!"
"I swear to you, Wendy," Doranbolt looked over his shoulder, a smile formed on his face despite the current situation. "I will come back to you."
Forcing back her tears with a sniffle, she nodded and turned on her heels, taking off in a run with Charle at her side. Coerced into following Max's orders, the guards made a hasty exit with the Sandstorm Mage turning to take one long look back at Doranbolt before pushing his legs to keep up with his fellow Fairy Tail Wizard.
"Hmmmmm, those were good hits," The teleporter heard, from the dissipating dust of debris from the shattered wall. Up to his full height, he padded dust off his now-one sleeved jacket, taking care to lick away the dribble of blood leaking from the corner of his bruised jaw. "But you sent away my play-thing. That was rude of you."
"I know who you are, Handsome, and I know what you are capable of," The Fairy Tail Mage snarled, swinging a hand with declaration. "I won't give you the chance to lay a single finger on her head. Though I may not be in league with the Council any longer, I still am honor bound to bring you down for the injustice you've committed!"
"'In league the Council any longer,' you say...?" The dubbed 'Handsome' criminal spoke. Grasping his jaw, a depraved smile stretched from ear to ear, his chin jutting out as large teeth formed a toothy smile in a hideous sheen of pearly whites. "Not many people know my identity apart from those in the law. And since you're a Mage, that makes you...an ex-Rune Knight!"
Blitzing towards him, the scarred man lunged forward to use a Direct Line to catch the man off guard with his magic. But, just as he teleported in to land his punch, he'd find himself rebounded as something far more solid than muscle manifested over his well tailored chest. Wincing at his bruised hand, he looked up to see a densely layered shield formed over his torso, its angular shape conforming over his rippling muscles as if it was grown from his own body.
"I can sense magical energy, Council agent," Handsome boasted, raising his hands up to transform each of them into a pair of blades from the wrist outward. "I won't let you get the better of me again!"
"We'll see about that!" Doranbolt proclaimed as he leaped back into the fray, renewing his battle anew with him.
Farther away, Wendy led the way as she tried to use her senses to compensate for the lack of Doranbolt's magical sensory abilities. From what she could ascertain by smell, the air had a distinct higher magical presence as she maneuvered to one of the stairwells to a higher floor. Doing this, she could figure that the vault or some room of importance was adjacently connected to the throne room's entrance which was why the large mage was causing so much havoc.
"Do you know where you're going?" Max asked from behind.
"I can smell something different than I did the other day up this staircase!" She urged, keeping up her swift run up, forcing herself to sprint at top speed regardless of the gravity wearing on her from the incline of steps she walked upon. "We have to hurry!"
"I know, I know!" He yelled back with disgruntled affirmation.
Reaching a doorway, Wendy lurched her person to open the knob and pull herself outside.
There, she was blocked by a slender, female frame. Bearing pointed ears of the famed race native to the Seventh Kingdom Alliance - also shorthanded to just Seven - the partially armoured woman was about as tall as Wendy, but composed herself in a much more mature countenance as she looked prepared for her arrival.
"I thought I sensed something abnormal scuttling around in the castle," The elf spoke, her ruby eyes blinking with intrigue while her pinkish hair waved with movement due to the halo of blue light that shined behind her head. Floating off the floor's surface but keeping just below the ceiling, she clasped armoured hands together, energy spilling between the metal covered digits. "I'm not a murderer like Handsome, but I'm not going to let you do as you please."
Unfolding her palms, she unleashed a column of blue light, stunning the three by his brilliant glare. As they felt it shine touch them, they felt completely unglued from the ground, forced up into the air as if they weighed nothing.
"W-What?!" Max flailed his arms around. "I can't get back to the ground!"
"Please, stand aside!" Wendy implored, looking less impaired than Max but still held in place by the glow that was shining on her. "I don't want to hurt you, but what you're doing is wrong!"
"I'm sorry. A child like you can't understand what our blue bird is accomplishing," Eris melodically chastised, her countenance as a mother talking down to the girl that Wendy was despite her similar size and stature being identical to her own. "Just leave us in peace and we'll bring no harm to you."
While Max struggled to find any form of footing in the air, Wendy felt herself left with no choice. But the third of them simply doze head first, streaking in a blur of movement that defied sight.
"MAX SPEED!" Charle cried out as she rammed her head straight into the elf's chest. Bowling with the momentum of the blow, she released the passive glow that held them in the air and they summarily dropped back to the floor. Pulling back from the woman's lithe but armoured chest, Charle rubbed her head with a paw as she looked down with a grimacing glare. "You're causing for more damage than you are aware of. And I won't stand by and let you talk down to us while people in this castle are dying!"
"Charle," Wendy spoke aloud with a awestruck smile.
"That was cool, I guess," Max muttered under his breath as he recomposed himself.
"I see I was too gentle," Eris intoned, her eyes glowering as the halo changed hues from Blue to Red. As a crimson light endowed itself over her body she dropped to the floor but a sweltering heat began to be felt by everyone, her armoured hands now wreathed in something akin to a molten quality of luminescence. "If you don't stand down, then I shall use force to bring you to heel!"
"AGH!" Wendy recoiled, finding her body swelling up with heat and her skin feeling the sensation of being boiled.
"This heat-!" Charle gasped, finding it hard to breathe.
"No you don't!"
Eris felt her eyes widen as a column of sand erupted from the man's hands, swerving over Wendy's head and diving straight towards the elf's head. Leaping back, she avoided the blast of earth as it swept the ground with rough, course grains that got everywhere. Looking up, she'd see Wendy regain her countenance as the glow had dimmed on her and Max which whom, despite sweating up a storm, had his arms outstretched with either arm folded over each other.
"Come on, Wendy! Let's team up against this pointy eared thief!" He declared, a smile formed on his face despite how his legs shook beneath himself.
"R-Right," She stammered out, finding a smile work itself onto her face at his fighting spirit. Swinging her arms around, she focused her magical energy with a swirl of light and announced her intention over Max. "Fast wind that runs the heavens... VERNIER!"
"Whoa!" Max felt a sudden rush of teal light swim up from his soles to push up over his bowl hair in a vertical stream of energy.
"And now," Wendy swiveled her hands in the opposite posture, erecting another layer of golden light up over Max. "Power of the stout arms that tears heaven... ARMS!
"An Enchanter?" Eris marveled with wide blinking eyes. "A human girl has this kind of power, at such a young age...?"
"To finish, Protection of the tallest Mountains...ARMOUR!"
"H-Holy-!" Max almost swore aloud, looking down at the three layered enchantment that now wrapped around his body. Grinning with an infused confidence thanks to Wendy's powers, he set his eyes at the awestruck elf. Bending his knees, he kicked off, moving at a swifter speed than he ever felt himself capable of performing in the past. A swirling rotation of sand formed into his palm, and he let out a voluminous shout as he thrust his arm out at Eris. "Sand Wave!"
"Ngh!" Eris grimaced, a pale white light forming from a halo discharged in a column from her palms into a flat wall in front of herself to absorb the brunt of the impact. She saw cracks form within the field of repelling energy, making her blink widely at the attack power coming from the man. Dispelling the light, it shattered and Max jumped up to throw a kick at her that she deftly dodged, and threw a kick that he deflected with a raised arm.
"Ow!" The beige haired man winced out, the flash of light clashing against the three-layered enchanted Aura he was sporting.
"Ow?" The elf questioned aloud, thinking more discreetly to herself. That should have broken your arm!
"Take this" Max growled out as he twisted his arms around, forming a layer of sand that swirled around Eris, twisting her in the air. Then, he slammed a fist into an open palm, causing the sand to throw Eris to the ground with a sizable explosion that broke the floor, throwing the elf into a hole out of sight. "SAND REBELLION!"
"That was," Charle began to say, blinking at the massive hole her beige haired companion made. "Excessive..."
"S-She's probably going to not be moving for awhile," Max hesitantly proclaimed, grinning nervously as he looked over his shoulder at Wendy and Charle. "Let's go before she decides to get up sooner than that."
"Right," Wendy nodded, running up towards where Max was and - with Charle's help - flew over the hole while Max pushed himself across the gap with a burst of his Sandstorm. Once on the other side, the they began to run onwards, not bothering to look down at the hole that was crafted by the male wizard.
Down in the impact site, a faint white light radiated around a wincing Eris, whom was face first in a comical crater of her exact shape; including her pointed ears. Pushing herself up, she endowed herself with a blue halo, clapping her armoured hands together as she stumbled back to her feet. Forming a seashell construct, she placed it up over her left face's side and spoke with a concerned voice echoing to the minds of her comrades.
My dears...it seems we have unexpected guests in the castle.
One Enchanter with blue hair and a small body, a flying cat of snow colored fur and a blue-collared, beige haired man wielding Sand-like Magic.
Use caution, they are extremely capable; I'm already making haste to catch up with them.
Mercurius Interior, Treasury Chamber
Runt felt beside herself.
An indignant vein throbbed over her exposed forehead as she turned to face the haughty princess dressed figure that waved her furred fan over her lower face, concealing her proud smirk.
"What did you just say to me, you smug bitch?" She growled out in a low timbre, no longer producing a lighter voice her spunky attitude normally possessed.
"My-My, here I thought the only thing underdeveloped was your chest, not your ears," The woman intoned with a flash of her eyes and a few quick brushes of her fan to enhance her superior inflection of her voice. "You really must be lower tier in every category, aren't you?"
"BITE ME!" Runt snapped, her sparking hands intensifying in flame as she raised her voice to her.
Amidst their squabbling, one of the knights rushed towards her. Moving at an exceptional pace for someone wearing such immaculate armour, the man gave a brief grunt as he swung a two-handed hammer straight down onto Runt's head.
A loud crack split the floor into a pie shaped crater. While flecks of debris seemed to mark the walls, an unseen field deflected them in front of the regally dressed haughty woman. Maintaining her eye contact with the girl, one could see a single hand raised up without her glare breaking from hers.
And in a scraping motion across the flat of the hammer, it released a sizable blast that sent him off his feet, barreling himself to grind on his back in a loud grind. Sparks flew as he skid to a halt in front of his fellow squadron, all looking stunned at the feat that was commenced. Arcadios, however, kept a stoic glare and had an understanding that the small woman was packing considerable magical power.
"Hey!" Runt turned to sideglance at the knight as he staggered up onto his haunches. "I wasn't ready yet. Do you wanna get pulverized that badly?"
"She's small, but she withstood a blow from Jorge like it was nothing!" One of the other knights, this one having a mane of magnificent blonde hair and well defined facial features that wasn't obscured by a helm like his comrades' had. "And that reaction; I swore she didn't even see him coming yet she had keen reflexes superior to ours. What kind of sorcery allows one to fight on par with the likes of us?"
"It doesn't matter," The aforementioned Jorge spoke, supporting himself with a press of the hammer on the ground while rising back to his full height. "She surprised me, but such power won't be enough to scratch our armour. All I need is one hit and a small body like that will be rendered inert!"
"Is that so?" Runt cocked a brow up, a smile playing across her childish face. "If you think yourselves so mighty, why not attack me all at once? I'll show you just how wrong you are!"
"Careful, now," The dress adorned woman fluttered her fan over her face tauntingly. "Even with that magic you might get over your head. Are you sure you want to show off right now?"
"You know what, Brutalia?!" The short blonde woman turned around, raising a sparking hand that caught aflame with a clench of her fist. "I'm going to leave no one for you to play with! They're all mine, you hear me?!"
That name, Arcadios' scowl deepened. I thought I was just hearing things, but now it said again and I look at her, the more I recognize...
"Now we know about that Fire Magic, let's pincer her down," The blonde knight spoke quickly.
"Agreed," Jorge snarled, pulling back the hammer till its pommel was level with his armoured neck.
Then, in an instant, the two leaped across the distance with Jorge moving swiftly in a horizontal lunge much to Runt's expectations.
"Too easy!" She reared back her fiery right hand, waiting for the hammer to pendulum sweep on top of her.
It never came.
Instead a bludgeoning thrust threw itself towards her face, forcing her her other unoccupied hand to catch it with a sparking blast that sent the pair flying from each other.
But, from above, the blonde knight had vaulted over Runt's flailing person, landing behind her with a surprisingly soft tap of his boots' soles.
"There's no escape!" The blonde haired knight whispered harshly, swinging his broad sword in a swift slashing arc at the still sprawling woman's petite backside.
It was time for Arcadios to be as shocked as his own men. For in the span of Jorge still skidding back he could see his subordinate cutting faster than the small woman could even find footing in time to react. But, defying her own momentum, she twisted around with irregular dexterity till she landed on the wall on all fours. At the same time the knight struck the ground with a loud clang, she dove head first towards him and folded herself to tuck her chin to her knees. Then, in a forward rolling flip, she'd propel herself by unseen force to spiral kick him in the face with a sickening crack that sent him slamming straight towards Brutalia.
To which the woman gestured her fan, sending him bowling around to comically impale the wall head first in front of her instead. Vibrating fiercely before slumping out of the hole and onto the ground, the blonde knight's face bruised and bloodied for all to see.
"Kenny! No!" One of the knights shouted. "You killed him!"
"You sick bitch!" Another howled with fury.
"Don't be absurd," Jorge remarked, huffing himself back up shakily to his feet for the second time. "He still draws breath, but his consciousness is no more."
That's one down, Arcadios thought with a curl of his lips, showcasing his displeasure at this. At this rate, can we truly beat them? We are left with few other options...
"They almost got you that time, and it was only two versus one," Brutalia spoke with a sultry sigh. "I think I should step in right about now."
"I told you to stay out of it!" Runt snapped with gritted teeth and small hands, wreathed in sparking fire, held up antagonistically. "Do you want me to burn you?!"
A haughty chortle released from her throat as she fanned herself even more quickly than before, "You do say the most amusing things, little one!~"
Withdrawing his blade from the ground, the pair of women changed their expressions to one more serious as the leader of the squadron hefted his broadsword by both hands. Adopting a slight bend to the knees, weapon held low, the man's posture showing expertise as well as experience. The barking of his subordinates halted at the sheer sight of action taking place of their own superior.
"It is clear we cannot best them using standard tactics. We will have to use what strength we have to fully assail them from a front they can't overcome by reflexes nor magic alone," The Chief of the Cherry Blossom Holy Knight Squadron proclaimed with a challenging ring to his tone. "Together, men!"
The knights let out a united shout, their voices carrying down the hall the bandits came from. They gave skeptical stares, watching them line up and assuming stances similar to their chief. When they calmed, a countenance shifted in the air, not defined by magic but mind over matter.
They weren't going to leave anything to chance. This was their strongest formation under these circumstances.
"Leave this to me, Runt," Brutalia lowered her tone with her words. Runt looked objective but her eyes saw the expression behind the fan she maintained beneath her eyes; a wicked grin that bared her teeth in a chilling concealment of malice that brought her own gait to a halt.
"W-Whatever you say," The short mage replied with a disgruntled grunt, taking a few cautious steps back.
Then, the knights charged in a blur. Jorge brought his hammer to bear in a sideways swing, another knight thrust forth and two others kicked off the walls to bring their weapons down at their foe. Arcadios himself would bring a two-handed three fold combination of upper cut and cross side to side strokes at her.
Each strike, much to their shock, was handily deflected by the red-black dressed Mage's fan. The thrusts bounced back, swords cracking and the edges that swung at her rattled intensely. Her arm was a blur, imperceptible even to the knights' eyes.
"Impossible-!" The avian helmeted leader exclaimed. "Her speed is greater than ours?"
"All done?" Brutalia inquired, her fair face with cherry lips spread sinisterly. A violet aura engulfed her body as she raised her left hand with a malicious intent; as she did so, each of them were held in place, hefted off the ground, and dangled under her thrall. "I'm going to enjoy breaking you, knights of Mercurius!"
Wendy felt her legs burning as the group continued to make haste; she doubted she'd ever actually run this much before, and in spite of herself, found the action suitably distracting. The castle had a rather irksome structure, but with suitable directions and Wendy's nose, the trio were navigating well.
"How are we doing, Wendy?" inquired Charle, the exceed flying alongside her companion.
"We're...almost there..." Wendy said.
"Well, I'm glad to hear that," panted Max, keeping stride well with the little Dragon Slayer and the Exceed. "This castle is huge!"
The blue-haired girl was anything but relieved. The fact that they were approaching the treasury was, perhaps, a good thing. However, the feeling she was getting was anything but good. "Blood...I can smell blood in that room..."
Wendy's statement caused a chill to spread throughout the group. Doranbolt's departure had already left them a man down, and the strange elf-woman had used even stranger magic. What could possibly be next? Plunging themselves into darkness, the group entered a narrow hallway. The sounds of battle filled their ears — sharper in poor Wendy's — and the smell of blood grew stronger. A source of light became visible near the end of the tunnel, the group pushing themselves harder to reach it...
...and the sight that reached their eyes was horrific. The bodies of the Cherry Blossom Holy Knight Squadrons were strewn across the floor of the treasury, laying in a pool of their own blood. The red coloured liquid was splattered onto the arching double doors of the Mercurius Treasury Vault. Kneeling before the haughty, laughing form of a red-and-black clad woman, was Arcadios. He clung desperately to his sword, using it to hold his weight up. His armour, which must have been a brilliant white, was stained red with blood splatter, and his body was shaking.
"Is that...?" gasped Max.
"It's Arcadios!" Wendy finished, her eyes widening in horror.
"...The...Fairy Tail mages..." gasped Arcadios, his voice hoarse. A tired, exhausted eye peered at Wendy, Max, and Charle through the visor of his battered, stained helmet. "You've...made it..." A thin smile — one of satisfaction, of a soldier who had fulfilled his duty — slipped across Arcadios' face, the man slumping to the ground and losing consciousness. Blood pooled from out beneath him, adding to the red stains that painted the room.
"About time you crumpled," groaned Brutalia. "I have no patience for stubborn men." She raised her fan, preparing to use it for the finishing blow. A roaring, rushing wind filled her ears, catching Brutalia off-guard, her vision clouded by a burst of sand. Brutalia forced herself backwards, away from the typhoon of grit, her face worked in frustration. Runt was unable to stifle a snigger, which was mercifully drowned out by the sound of the sandstorm.
"What in the—!" Brutalia sounded furious, and truth be told, she was. Being denied a kill was one of the easiest ways to infuriate the woman, and when she was angry, her face revealed the true meaning of 'beauty is only skin deep'.
"Weren't you paying any attention?" chided Runt. "Eris sent us a message with her magic; she told us to watch out for the likes of blue haired Enchanter, a snow-white cat, and a beige-haired man with Sand Magic. You were too busy salivating over your next kill to pay her voice any mind."
True to Runt's words, the sandstorm vanished, revealing people who matched the description Eris had given them. Wendy was kneeling on the floor, cradling the bleeding form of Arcadios in her arms. Max stood protectively in front of her, sand swirling around them, heeding his beck and call. And Charle floated above all three of them, her white wings spread wide, almost angelic. Each and every Fairy Tail mage wore a look of utmost displeasure.
"So you must be the Mage group the King of Fiore recruited to protect his riches, aren't you?" asked Brutalia, snapping her fan shut. "Fairy Tail, wasn't it? We've heard of you."
"If you've heard of Fairy Tail, then you know we're the Number One Guild in Fiore," Max snapped harshly. It was a bluff on his part, as he knew damn well the mages who made Fairy Tail the Number One Guild were no longer with them. But he was praying that these two Mages weren't nearly as informed as the citizens of Crocus, and they could settle this with an intimidation play. "Give up now, and we can resolve this without it getting messy."
"Number One Guild?" repeated Runt. "No, that's not what she meant. You're the Guild that lost all of its best members in a tragic accident!" Clenching her fists, the flames reignited in a brilliant spark. "We might have been worried if someone like the Salamander or Titania had been sent! But small fry like you?!"
"We can take you easily," supplied Brutalia, for once on the same page as Runt.
Wendy faltered. Anyone and everyone seemed to know what had happened to her Guild, and was using it as a weapon. She could feel the emotions rising in her throat, threatening to spill out in spite of the danger. Wendy railed against it, desperately trying to ground herself in the here and now. I can't...I can't bring myself to cry now...I'm the only one here that can save everyone...and Doranbolt...Doranbolt is coming back to me...If I cry now, I'm giving up right here...!
Wendy's thoughts drifting towards the elder female mage of Fairy Tail she'd come to consider an older sister. The crimson haired Queen of the Fairies who had pulled Wendy out of a pool of misery before. She tightened her grip on Arcadios, who began to glow with a soft green light; the sign of a Sky Dragon Slayer's healing magic. Wendy's brown eyes burned with a fire they had lacked since the events of Tenrō Island.
"I don't care how strong you are, or what you think you know about us!" cried the little Dragon Slayer. "Fairy Tail never backs down from a fight!"
Max grinned, his spirit reignited at Wendy's words. His bluff had failed, but Wendy wasn't giving up. "Well said!"
"So she knows how to talk big," said Brutalia, irritation, amusement, and indulgence working across her face in equal, terrifying measure. "I'll tell you what, then. The under-developed one over here doesn't even need to lift a muscle. I'll take you all on and break you down!" She pointed her fan at the three of them. "Just like I did these knights, I will crush you!"
Runt sighed. As eager as she was to let off some steam, she knew better than to interfere when Brutalia got like this. It's best if I stay back...just keep a lookout, that's all... Runt kept her eyes locked forward, observing everything, the flames fading from her hands.
"Max, Charle...I can't leave everyone like this..." Wendy said tentatively, already in the process of applying first-aid to Arcadios. "The Enchantments I bestowed upon Max should last a little longer...please, fend her off while I tend to everyone?" Wendy's eyes met Max and Charles, her expression saying everything. I will not let anyone die again!
"You've got it!" Max nodded, while Charle huffed, but assented with a curt nod. He could still feel the surging increase in power that Wendy's triple-layer Enchantment had given him. At the same time, however, the Enchantments were waning, Max could feel it. I'm going to have the make the most out of the next few minutes...!
Clasping his hands together, Max generated a swirling sphere of sand between both palms. Larger portions of sand required more magical power than smaller versions, but Max felt like he could take on the world right now. "SAND BURST!" Thrusting his palms forward, Max released the sphere outwards with the force of a small rocket. Brutalia, with her fan, raised it high; the sand sphere exploded before it even reached her, as if touching an invisible wall. Max's narrow eyes narrowed further, surprised.
Is it some sort of barrier? he mused, keeping his attention fully locked on the woman.
Flying at a high altitude, Charle kept her keen eyes locked on the battle below. She had no plan that worked with Max, and in her defence, she barely knew how the man fought. This wasn't the Strongest Team she'd become familiar with, so she couldn't simply rush in half-cocked. Circling high overhead, the Exceed waited on an opening.
"Sandstorm, hm?" Brutalia smirked. "I've seen this sort of magic before! I can overcome it without much work!" Her fan snapped shut, before reopening in a flurry. She thrust her fan in Max's direction; an invisible force impacted him with the weight of something he couldn't describe, a kind of pressure that came from more than simply air. Bracing himself, the thin man withstood the assault with considerable difficulty. I owe you, Wendy! He thought, realising it was only her Enchantments that had allowed him to stand his ground. But what was that?!
She's super strong...
Wendy had already moved on from Arcadios to the other knights, applying the requisite first-aid to stabilise their conditions. But that magic...it looks like wind pressure if you look at it...but I know it's not. I can't feel any actual vibrations in the air at all...it's something else entirely...Weaving his hands at his sides, Max formed two separate whirling twisters, surrounding each palm with a gale of earthen wind. With both palms, even as he felt his Enchantments begin to fade still further — he had only moments to make this count — the beige-haired mage released a torrent of sand. It rushed along the ground, snaking its way towards Brutalia. Her fan moved in a sweeping motion, and along the arc it traveled, the Sand Rebellion followed, completely wrestled from Max's control.
"What the hell?!" Max swore, unable to help himself.
She's got him now, thought Runt, smirking. And here I was hoping I'd get a chance to do something.
Brutalia raised her fan above her head, and the stream of the Sand Rebellion followed her motions easily, rising high towards the ceiling. The elegant-looking woman brought her fan down, and the Sand Rebellion with it, delivering Max's magic right back towards him with all the ease of swatting a fly. Seeing these movements, it finally clicked in Wendy's brain.
"Max! I thought it was Air Magic, but it isn't!" she shouted. "It's...it's some sort of telekinesis!"
"She's right!" confirmed Charle, whose vantage point afforded her the best view. "Her movements were too swift and fluid for a user of any sort of Air Magic; it isn't like what I've seen from Wendy!"
"Telekinesis?!" Max was aghast, feeling the full brunt of his Sand Rebellion with his own body. The torrential sands pushed Max backwards, threatening to topple him over entirely. Wendy's Enchantments were gone; the euphoric feeling they'd given him had faded with his last attempt at the Sand Rebellion. It began to rip into his skin, tearing away at his clothes. Damn it...
"
Protection of the tallest Mountains...ARMOUR!"
His body was swathed in a soft glow, the familiar feeling of Wendy's Enchantments returning. His Sand Rebellion was causing far less pain, which Max took advantage of immediately to force it off, dispersing the flow of his Sand Rebellion with a churning sand tornado that spun in the opposite direction. The sand dispersed, stunning Brutalia who had been hoping to kill Max with his own technique.
Standing behind Max was Wendy, who emitted a soft green glow of her own. She quickly finished reciting the incantations for her other Enchantments, restoring Max's three-fold Enchantment, while applying it to herself as well. "I've finished the first-aid, Max! Everyone's condition is stabilised! I'm going to help you now!"
"Alright!" Max grinned, feeling reinvigorated, as if Wendy had cast her healing Magic on him. "With two against one, we can handle it!"
"If the Enchantress is stepping in, then I'm not going to wait around anymore!" said Runt, making a wide leap and landing next to Brutalia. "I don't care about your objections, Brutalia, I'm fightin' now too! Besides, if we take too long, the blue bird will be upset."
"Do as you wish, what the blue bird wants isn't my concern. All I'm concerned about" Brutalia's magical energies began to bleed out for the first time since the battle had begun, a lush, brilliant red, flame-like against her body. Her face, which had struggled with emotion during the past several minutes, broke into a malicious smile. "is seeing their blood on the outside of their mangled bodies!"
"Now..." came an eloquent voice that everyone in the room was at least acquainted with, interrupting the fighting stances that the group had taken. "That's far from polite, Brutalia, dear. We owe everything to our precious little blue bird." Out of the darkness of the hallway came the elven woman Runt had called 'Eris'; her body had been healed of whatever damage she had sustained in her battle with Max, Charle, and Wendy, and she flashed Brutalia the look of a patient, patronising matron. "You would do well to be polite, even when he isn't within earshot."
"How is she up and about...?" Max was flabbergasted. "I know I hit her with a point-blank Sand Rebellion!"
"You'll find that my people are a bit sturdier than humans," replied Eris simply. "As loathe as I am to continue with violence, our blue bird's orders are absolute." A halo of purple light formed behind Eris; with the clapping of her palms together, the Brutalia and Runt were bathed in the glow of Eris' ring of light. The light created a gentle gust, ruffling their clothing and hair, but otherwise was no indicator of an effect.
"Oh I haven't felt this in awhile!" grinned Runt, flexing her fingers; she felt as if she could grind steel to dust.
"I think you'll find that we also have an Enchanter, little girl," Brutalia boasted, enjoying with the surge of power that accompanied the light from Eris' halo. "Now, this has officially gone on too long! Let's finish it!"
A gentle flow of air distracted Brutalia, Runt, and Eris in the middle of the woman's boasting. The air, which should have been invisible, was given a purple hue; this stream of purple flowed in a singular direction — towards the small Fairy Tail Mage. Opening her mouth, Wendy devoured the air and with it, the purple light that accompanied it. Scooping even more air into her mouth with her hands, Wendy tried to eat as delicately as a lady should, but was surprised by how delicious the air tasted — even moreso than normal — and ate ravenously.
"She's..." Runt watched Wendy, mouth agape.
"The little girl can't be—" Brutalia sounded indignant, as if the very thought that crossed her mind was one she'd rather shake off.
"And yet it would appear so," Dissatisfaction, well and true, crossed Eris' face for the first time since she'd gotten here. "The little one is a Dragon Slayer..." Eris' elf ears twitched nervously. She seems to be eating the air...? No...that's not good! The air is brimming with power from my Light of Authority...! The eleven woman immediately shut off the Light of Authority, and the air once again regained its normal colour and composition, but it was too late.
Wendy's magical aura began to flare, light green magical energy mixing with the shades of purple, darkening her aura to a deep emerald. "Thanks for the meal," Wendy said politely, rubbing the back of her hand alongside her chin. She was pleased to see that, if nothing else, their enemies looked absolutely taken aback. Not many people knew what to do when confronted with Dragon Slayer Magic, and she never always knew why; she, Natsu, and Gajeel were definitely a rare breed, but the fact that Dragon Slayer Magic always surprised an opponent came as an equal to surprise to Wendy. Yet that could be her advantage.
Reciting her incantations for a second time, Wendy covered herself, Max, and Charle in a doubled, triple-layer Enchantment, using the extra magical power she'd gained from eating the air blessed by the eleven woman's Enchantment. "Everyone! Let's try and do this quickly!"
"Of course!"
"You got it!"
Max and Charle cried in mutual agreement. Team Wendy officially was making their comeback.
Brutalia, all subtlety foregone, now that the trio had figured out the secret of her telekinetic magical abilities, snapped her fan downwards. A horrible CRACK! followed her motion — she had wrestled a chunk of stone free from the flooring, breaking it off and holding it above her head with all the ease of lifting paper — bringing her fan slashing in the direction of Wendy and her friends. The gargantuan chunk of stone followed suit, barreling forth with the intent to smash them all.
"SAND WALL!" Max blurred ahead of his friends, spreading his arms wide. Sand erupted from the ground, thick and layered, rushing out in a defensive formation to protect himself and Wendy. The boulder crashed into it, slowing down before stopped dead in the tightly packed protective sand barrier. "SAND WRAPPINGS!" Weaving his arms through the air, the Sand Wall encased the boulder completely, crushing it, grinding it, and assimilating it into Max's sand.
"DOUBLE LAYERED SAND REBELLION!" With the boosted sand acquired from both his magic and natural sand, Max transferred his protective barrier into an offensive deluge of sand. Brutalia braced herself for impact, caught off guard by Max's bold but successful counter of her own telekinetic assault.
"MAX SPEED!" Charle cried out, her body losing form with speed; a white streak launched itself from the ceiling towards Runt, who dodged it barely, flipping through the air away from a strike which had come from an angle she shouldn't have properly seen. Charle pulled out of the dive without crashing into the ground, only to see Runt running headlong towards her; the diminutive woman made a wide leap, and her foot struck Charle in the torso.
Air burst from Charle's lungs, she felt the blinding snap of several ribs, the pressure of flying backwards, and her consciousness went black.
"CHARLE!" Wendy's yell was throat-shredding. Leaping into the air with her arms extended, she caught the flying form of her friend, buckling from the pressure. Tucking and rolling as she hit the ground, Wendy cradled the limp body of Charle in her arms. The Exceed was barely breathing, and she wasn't moving at all. "Charle...! Just...just hang in there...!" Immediately, Wendy began to apply the Healing of her Sky Dragon Slayer Magic to Charle's motionless form.
"S-Shit!" Max hissed, realising that Charle's life was in grave danger and he was stuck fending off three opponents who were more than strong enough to manhandle him. He'd already been wounded, and while Wendy's Enchantments had boosted his defences and physical abilities, she hadn't had the time to heal him yet. "SAND—"
"I've had enough!" Runt crowed, her hands igniting in a rush of fire. She ran quickly along the ground, and extended a hand in a forward swipe. Max backstepped, avoiding the flames...only for his shirt to rip open and blood to splatter across the stone floor. It was a shallow cut, but a cut nevertheless. She cut me...with flames!? What kind of magic is she using?! Max kept moving backwards, evading, and as he did, Runt pursued, her flaming hands cutting through the air, leaving a trail of embers. Each strike left a cut on Max's body the man couldn't explain; yet barely any heat. I...can't focus...with this little girl...pressing me like this...!
"We've got our chance," Eris placed a hand on Brutalia's shoulder. "The Dragon Slayer is incapacitated. Runt has the Sand Mage under her thumb. We should turn our attention towards the Vault."
Brutalia stared at Eris, chewing on a response that would have done far more than border on rudeness. She held her tongue, snapping her fan shut, jabbing it in the direction of the Vault. "Fine. Let's get out of here, so I can take a bath."
Both of the women moved at the same time; a halo of yellow light shone behind Eris, while Brutalia simply maintained her stance. With the clap of her hands, the halo of yellow light flared, releasing a thin, but powerful laser of concentrated light from Eris' palms. Simultaneously, Brutalia let loose a mental blast of invisible force; both of these attacks ripped past Wendy, shaking her to the core but solidly missing her, and collided with the massive, double doors of the Vault. An almost electronic sound accompanied the release of the combined attack, yet it was completely drowned out by the explosion of the collision with the Vault's doors.
The force of the detonation sent bodies flying everywhere — unconscious Knights, Arcadios, and even Wendy herself, still clutching Charle — smoke and debris went flying high to the ceiling. Runt and Max's separate battle was disrupted, the ground shaking beneath them, throwing them both off-balance. Brutalia and Eris waited with baited breath for the kicked-up dust to clear, expecting to see the Vault doors blown wide open. It was to their disbelief when the door was revealed, still standing, only dented by the force of their combined assault.
"All of that power...and the door didn't budge!" Max gasped, taking his attention away from Runt, who too looked incredulously at the double-doors of the Treasury Vault.
"It must be made of something other than steel or iron," Eris mused. "Our strength should be more than enough for metals like those."
"Then we'll just give it another go!" replied Brutalia. "Keep striking where we made that dent and we'll blow it wide open!"
"No..."
Brutalia and Eris' second attempt was halted by a small voice. Their attention turned to Wendy, who was beginning to stand up. Her legs trembled, and she still clutched Charle within her hands. Visions were flashing within her mind; Acnologia, Tenrō Island, the faces of her friends, wiped out in an explosion. The vision shifted; the faces of Doranbolt, Charle, and Max, her friends who were in immediate danger. Arcadios and his Knights, who needed more than her first-aid if they were going to make it out of here alive.
"Max! Please get behind me!"
The beige haired man wasted no time in following her instructions, dashing away from Runt and towards Wendy, standing firmly behind her as instructed.
Wendy inhaled deeply, pulling additional amounts of air, and the ambient Eternano Eris and Brutalia's combined attack had sent flying. Her cheeks bulged, storing the wind and eternano within her mouth.
"ROAR OF THE SKY DRAGON!"
Expelled from Wendy's fanged mouth was a swirling vortex of air, picking up more than enough debris to be visible to the naked eye. The hurricane-like vortex ripped into the ground, baring down on Eris and Brutalia with unprecedented force. The width of the spell was enormous, sweeping Runt, Eris, and Brutalia up within its shredding winds, and carrying them far across the Treasury room, crashing into a wall at the furthest end. Wendy's Roar drilled and bored into the wall, forcing it to crack and give away beneath its strength before her wind dissipated. The little Dragon Slayer slumped to her knees, exhausted.
"Wendy, are you alright?" Max knelt down beside the worn-out girl, concern etched into every crevice of his face.
The girl shook her head slowly. "We're in trouble..." She could smell it. They were about to deal with new arrivals in only moments, and one of them smelled familiar in a way she couldn't quite place.
"When Eris sent out that distress call, I didn't think she was actually dealing with something too serious," Wendy heard the voice before she saw its owner. The individual walked out of the darkened hallway, followed at arm's length by another person. Both were...odd, though the situation at hand was hardly the time to appreciate such things. The first person was a younger individual, with an androgynous, beautiful face and a body curved in a way that would make Runt envious. They wore a sleeveless, skintight outfit which hugged their body, and was covered front to back with a long, flowing cloth. Their footsteps were accompanied by the click of the heels they wore, and adorning their sapphire-coloured hair was a stereotypical witch's hat. Their gloved hands clutched at a staff, ornately crafting, appearing more like ice than metal or wood.
"It does appear that they've given Eris, Runt, and Brutalia a run for their money," spoke the other. This one was clearly a woman, stunningly beautiful, putting even Eris' elven looks to shame. Her body was mature, voluptuous, and each step caused her considerable endowments to move. She wore only a purple string bikini, in addition to a white cloth which was draped from her shoulders to her hips, yet still managed to cover little. She ran one hand through her blonde hair, which was tied into a ponytail, while her other hand clutched a staff of her own.
The blue-hued individual placed their free hand coyly on their hips and smirked. "It's you, isn't it? The Enchantress with the small body and blue hair?"
Wendy swallowed, the hairs on her neck standing on end. Their magical aura, even at this stage, was making it hard for her to take in what little air she hadn't used for her previous spell. After the pregnant pause became almost unbearable she nodded, clutching Charle tightly to her chest while Max looked on apprehensively behind her.
"I see you're at the end of your rope, little Enchanter," The blue haired figure spoke, a smile curling at the lips and a free hand pulling at the lip of the hat's brim. A blue stare locked onto Wendy's brown orbs, the voice bringing a pit that deepens into her stomach. "I'm the Generous Robin. A pleasure to meet you, survivor of Fairy Tail, Wendy Marvell."
A/N:
Demod20: Awww yeah, the action is on and the censors aren't here. Grim and grisly atmosphere are things I excel at so I'm very pleased with the result of my efforts. From Handsome's brutality to Brutalia's ruthlessness, I like it when villains have unabashed carnal evil on full display. Not to mention gives plenty of incentive for our heroes to jump into action! I had fun with the full cast and I am eager to see where my co-author and I take it from here.
LastationLover5000: Whoo boy, this was quite a chapter to write. My counterpart's section really started us off good, with Doranbolt splitting off to fight Handsome, and Eris intercepting Wendy, Charle, and Max. But I feel like I got the harder part this time, with Wendy, Max, and Charle having to fend off Brutalia, Runt, and later Eris as well. Mercifully, Wendy isn't a weakling, she just lacks the finesse everyone else does. Hopefully, you all enjoyed this chapter, especially with our new arrivals at the very end! We'll see you all soon!