Way Back Home
Soler did say that he wanted them to land on the ground. But a crash landing wasn't exactly how he imagined it going. He began to stir awake as his senses were slowly coming back to him. He looked around to see the others scattered around him. Holding his head, he tried to shake away the rest of the grogginess to remember what happened. It was during this; did he look to the downed beast and that's when he remembered. Sticking out of its side was a giant ice pillar that went straight through and out of its other side.
"That's right. Alice shot us down." he finally remembered. As they were descending to the ground the group felt a sudden spike in magic around them. It took Soler a second too long to realize who magic it was. But when he turned to Alice all he saw the flash of her shot that hit the beast. It roared in pain and Coco quickly tried to keep it calm and flying but with that shot did it go plummeting to the ground. After that things went black as they crashed.
Looking to the now dissipating ice he began to wonder how he let this all fall apart. Maybe if he only kept her as an enemy? No, he could never see Alice, even if it wasn't his Alice, as an enemy. Maybe he was too roundabout with his intentions? That was it wasn't it. She thought he was coming at her out of love. Well he was but just not the same type. His clenched his fist in self anger.
"Man am I an idiot." he keeps failing when it matters the most. First with Lisanna, then Erza, and now Alice too. He just wanted to get her to see the wrong that was going on in this world. Was it too big a task for him? Maybe it's because he was like this that's why he fails at the most important moments. Because he tries to tackle impossible tasks on his own. But he was S-Class so wasn't he supposed to be able to? It was his job, right?
He felt that same feeling of helplessness slowly grip his heart. It squeezed with those memories. Watching Lisanna get killed by her brother, holding a heartbroken Mira, watching Erza sacrifice herself, seeing her cry because of him. Then those eyes popped back up, and with them so did fear. The cold eyes of the demon from Tartaros. His unforgiving tone and murderous mentality. He wanted the kill that badly he sacrificed himself to get it. The thought of if those eyes were locked on to someone from the guild. The screams… the image shook him to his core. The fear latched onto his lungs as breathing became harder at each passing image and thought.
"Sol...So..er...Soler! Come on snap out of it!" Grays voice broke through Soler's mind bringing him back. He looked up to see Gray standing over him with his hand held out.
"Come on get up." he told him. Soler stared at Gray lost for a long few moments before accepting his hand. The ice mage pulled Soler up to his feet. Gray was silent as he studied Soler's expression which spoke all on what was going through his mind. Gray sighed and gently tapped Soler's chest with his fist.
"This isn't the time to be freaking out. You're not a failure and you know it." he told him. Soler's eyes widened in surprise as he focused on Gray. The other had a smirk on his face.
"Don't be too surprised. I know about your little episodes. I was there on your first job and you panicked then too. But what calmed you down was knowing we were there with you. And nothing's changed much since then so stop thinking you are a failure when you are not. Hell, you beat me to S-Class. It'd look bad on me for losing to you." he joked. Soler continued his staring to stunned to react. But the more he thought his stunned expression slowly switched to a thankful smile.
"Since when did you get so cool?" he teased. Gray moved back and shook his head.
"I've always been cool. You only started to notice now." he responded back. Both boys smirked at each other. But their moment got quickly interrupted at the sound of flapping wings and heavy footsteps. The two looked out to see that the army had caught up to them and the beast were dropping off soldiers. Gray sighed,
"Geez these guys don't let up." he complained. Soler stared out to the incoming forces quickly searching. It only took him a moment to find Alice on one of the only flying beasts hovering over the army. Her gaze was locked onto him. That tightness from earlier came back but instead of letting it get him down he was going to let it push him forward. He had to end things with her in this fight no matter what.
"Ow. my head." They looked over to see Lucy had finally awoken and so had Coco. The latter went instantly into looking after their fallen friend.
"Oh no Lily are you okay?" she worriedly asked the beast. It gave out a weak roar and then tried to sit itself straight. The moment it did the ice attack began to break apart. Soler expected there to be a hole in the spot but there wasn't. At the spot was only a large frosted circle showing that the ice shot did make contact. He eyed that mark for a few moments making a mental note of it. He watched Coco examine her friend before turning back to the incoming forces. The same forces that Lucy just now seemed to notice.
"T-That's a bit excessive don't you think?" she asked nervously. Soler shook his head.
"Not when you're the kingdoms top threat it isn't. Either way we need to get ready for the fight ahead. Coco think your beast will be able to fly anytime soon?" he asked the girl. She sadly shook her head.
"That attack did a lot more damage than it looked like. Whatever Knightwalker hit her with put her out of commission." she responded as she tried to sooth the creature. He looked back to the mark and to him it only looked like their fur had been frosted over but maybe the attack did internal damage. Either way air support was out the question now.
"Well then looks like this will be a grounded assault." his energy sparked to life around his hands as he began to walk towards the army. Gray smirked and rolled his neck popping his joints.
"And now he's back to mister calm and cool. Show off." he said as he followed Soler. Coco looked at the two in awe and shock.
"They can't seriously think they can beat that whole army, can they?" she asked astonished. Lucy sighed and shook her head.
"Oh, they think they can." she responded. But she even smirked as she pulled out her whip which flared to life with its spiraling magic.
"But sadly, so do I." she said before she went out with them. Coco watched the three mages walk out to the incoming army with confidence. She knew Fairy Tail mages were wild but this was just crazy. But what made it even more crazy was that they were doing it for their friends. They were fighting this army to protect those they hold dear. Much like a knight would do. She looked back up to her downed friend and the mark left from the attack and a fire flicked itself to light within her. Her friend is down and the Exceeds need protecting. Heck not just the exceed but the entire Kingdom did. The enemy isn't Fairy Tail but the king and the army he commands.
The fuel from her resolutions pushed the fire to new lengths as she stood up and turned to the army and her friends that were going to meet them.
"I might not be able to fight the one who hurt Lily. But I can fight with them to protect everyone else." Coco gave her friend another gentle pat getting a soft grumble as it rested. Then without another thought she ran off to help her friends.
The army of soldiers were all lined up and marching towards their enemy. A lot, if not all the men were quite confident with their mission. Not only did they have superior numbers, but they were fighting a small group of other worlds mages. No more than three. Plus they had a Knightwalker with them. The odds of them losing were close to none and it fueled their pride to continue on. They figured the enemy was cowering in fear by now. Easy pickings.
These confident thoughts pushed them forward so when the first groups of men saw three figures walking calmly towards them it confused them heavily. It was two males and one female. It matched who they were after so the fact that they were coming towards them was confusing. One soldier didn't waste his chance and took aim.
"Dumb Fairy Tail mages." he mocked as he fired the round at the white haired one. The shot whizzed through the air faster than any vehicle ever created. And at the distance they were it should've only taken it no more than 3 seconds to reach its target. So, when the shot flew straight past the other two mages, he was confused much like everyone else. The white-haired mage was gone. The soldier looked up from his barrel and glanced around.
"Where did he-"
"Go?" the sudden voice from behind made him jump hard enough he fell face first to the ground. The others around him jumped back as well as the white-haired mage was standing right there. The moment the shock passed they went to attack but even the fastest of them to the draw was nowhere near fast enough for him. The only thought they had time to register was pain as the group of 15 men were all knocked unconscious from a blur of attacks.
To those not close enough to get attacked all looked in slight horror at the white blur that took down a whole squad of soldiers single handedly. But before they could even try to attack a chill blew over them and then a whole another squad full of soldiers went flying as ice pillars went appeared scattering the men. And if things were already starting bad that ice got shattered and blew through another back by a sand swirl that carried the pieces.
In a quick wave of successive attack was the entire first wave of soldiers taken down. And in the debris stood Soler, Gray and Lucy who all looked to the army of men with deadly expressions. Then Soler took a step forward getting the men's attention, and in two words did he set off the battle.
"Bring it."
And did those soldiers bring it. The next hour of fighting was some of the most intense fighting the Earthlanders had been through. Not only were they pushing themselves to keep knocking down the endless waves of enemies but every so often were they taking hits in the process. Plus, Soler was doing his best to try and limit how much of his energy he burned through so he restricted himself to just using his speed and his fist to beat down his foes. He needed as much of it he could muster for his fight with Alice, who had been just watched from above.
But even with all his running his stamina was going to run out before his energy did at this rate. As the fight dragged on, he could tell Gray and Lucy were slowing down. He knew the soldiers had picked up on it to for they were trying to pressure them more than him. But he wasn't going to allow it so he was running both counter defense for the two and offense for him as well. And doing this was going through his stamina far faster than he wanted it to.
But they were holding their on which was the most he could hope for. But even their luck runs out. Soler knocked down a few more men and noticed that Lucy had fallen and was getting surrounded. He looked to Gray and saw he was in no better situation. Soler grimace and was ready to go help but a sudden sharp cold pierced through his side.
Everything seemed to slow down as the mystery attack hit him sending him to his knees. His wide eyes and trembling hands went to his side. Sticking out of him was the same looking ice pillar that the beast had. Which meant. He turned to glare back at Alice who still had her ice bow formed and aimed straight for him. Her gaze was the same steely calm as before which only added to his pain.
"She was waiting for this moment. Waiting for me to run out of steam and lose focus. Alice…" Soler gripped the ice pillar and it burned to touch it. But the moment he did it scattered much like the giant one from before. And again, besides the hole in his jacket and shirt the only signs that it was there was his skin that looked frostbitten and purple. He placed a finger on the spot and luckily he still had feeling in the area but it stung and burned with each passing moment. It didn't take a genius that the attack was cold enough to cause frostbite but to this level was something he hadn't encountered before.
Alice internally smiled at seeing the downed Soler. Patience really was the key to victory. She stood up from her crouched position and surveyed the field to see that her men were quickly surrounding all of the Earthlanders. Now an actual smile formed on her face as she raised her hand.
"Now all men. Kill the enemy!" she ordered. The men roared in approval as they neared in on their targets. Soler tried to stand hearing the order but the pain from the attack was too fresh for him to move. He was helpless yet again when his family needed him the most. He watched in despair as the soldiers moved in on both Lucy and Gray. He could make out their pained expressions as their end drew close. But even though he himself was reaching his end, his mind could only think on what he could have done to prevent all this from happening. Plenty of ideas came to mind but only one stuck out to him. It was that voice that's been nagging him ever since he was brought into the guild. It would always tell him…
The intense tremor that shook the ground halted all of the soldiers' progression as they were trying to keep balance. Some succeed while others failed tremendously. Alice watched this phenomenon confused. She was trying to remember if any of those mages had magic that could do something like this. Her eyes went straight to Soler who was looking just as confused as she was.
"If even he doesn't know who's doing this. Then who.." as she continued her thinking a green vine shot up from the ground. At first it seemed small but as it continued to rise into the air it grew and grew in size as even more vines started to pop out. The soldiers were either sent flying or was getting thrown by these plants as they went on until they settled, and a large tree was sitting in the middle of the battlefield. The entire field was silent as everyone watched the tree settle and at the base of it a door formed as two twin vines curved above the door. And then as if with magic an orange banner appeared on the vines. And when it unfurled Soler, Lucy and Gray all smiled as the Fairy Tail emblem stood out proudly. And not a moment later did the mages from within it burst out of the door weapons drawn. Edolas Lucy stood out in front of the group, her hair was shorter than the last time he saw her but she still looked just as fierce.
"Fairy Tail has come knocking!" her shout sent a wave of pride and power through the Earthland guild. But her words are all it took to send the rest of her guild into the fray of fighting the soldiers and evening the odds. The new mages sent the soldiers into a scatter as they did their best to refocus on the new enemy. But while they did that it gave their old enemy time to recover and counterattack. Gray seeing his chance channeled his magic and sent it to the area around him shooting up ice pillars sending more soldiers scattering. Lucy used her chance to pull out Leo's key summoning him and the two were quick to clear out her surrounding area. Soler tried to push his counterattack, but Alice's attack still hadn't fully faded and caused him to slip up again. The soldiers near him noticed him and remembered previous orders and went to attack. Soler went to shield himself from the attack, but it never reached him for another attack sent them all flying. He looked back up to notice them gone and wondered who sent them flying.
"Are you ok?" The voice made his heart jump. His gaze landed on none other than Mira who was standing over him with a large mallet in her hands. He was stunned looking at her. She was just as beautiful as ever and her blue eyes looking over him concerned always sent his heart into a swirl. She giggled seeing his stunned expression and held out a hand for him.
"Come on. On your feet." he didn't hesitate in placing his hand onto hers and the feel of how soft they were sent shockwaves through his body. He hadn't realized how much he was missing his Mira. Once he was on his feet, she gave him another look over and nodded.
"Good you don't look too bad. Though that wound looks to be a problem." she said eyeing the hole in his jacket. Soler instantly went to cover it and put on a forced smile.
"Oh, it's nothing I can't handle." he reassured her. Mira gave him an even gaze.
"Oh really?" he nodded, keeping his smile. Without a warning Mira lightly punched the place where his hand was blocking the hole causing the pain to resurface tenfold. He lost his smile and almost fell to one knee again from the pain, but she was quick to catch him.
"You definitely seem fine. Now come here tough guy I got something that might help." she teased. Soler didn't argue as she got out a small jar of a blue substance. She quickly put a bit on her fingers and gently pressed it onto the spot. The contact drew out a 'hiss' from him, but the cooling effect of the medicine slowly began to take effect. He eased a bit as the medicine did its work.
"Thanks Mira." he cooed to her. She was quick to notice his tone and pinched the spot causing him to jump.
"Don't be getting any ideas. You're cute but definitely not my type." that was a blow he wasn't expecting. It not only hurt his pride but his heart a bit too. "I tend to like guys who aren't always trying to act macho. I'd worry less because I knew exactly what was going on." she softly said as a small smile spread on her face. Soler eyed the beauty for a moment taking in her words. It forced him to think back on his Mira. It made him wonder about things. And on how he needed to tell her something when he got back home. After another few moments did the numbness and stinging of his wound subside and she moved her hand away. He touched the spot and though it stung a bit, It was far more manageable than before.
"Wow, now I really do feel fine." he exclaimed as he wiggled a bit to feel it out. Mira smiled and nodded.
"Good than that means you're in shape to take care of Knightwalker. Lucy told us that you're our best shot of beating her." she told him. He was their best shot. Speaking of her he looked to see she was glaring down to the battlefield. Her eyes were darting form place to place trying to take it in and keep her composure.
"She's losing her patience." he thought as he examined her. A heavy slap on his back caused him to stumble a bit. He looked to Mira who was holding her weapon again.
"Ok now that you're better. Get to it. We'll hold off the army with your friends while you do." she told him. He smiled and nodded.
"Right. I'll leave it to you then." he turned away from her and began to jog out over to Alice and start their last fight. Mira watched Soler leave and once he was out of ear shot, she placed a hand to her chest to calm herself.
"Lucy really wasn't lying when she said he was attractive. He made my heart jump with that tone he took." she said to herself. With Soler out of sight Mira turned her attention back to the raging battle and charged back into it.
Soler bobbed and weaved his way through the men only wasting his energy taking down those directly in his way and was making good time to her. But he stopped in his tracks when he felt a magical signature coming from the field. He looked out in the direction of the signature. It might have been some years and it might have felt a bit different but there was no denying who it belonged to. It sent a shudder down his spine as his heartbeat grew louder. Without his mind's permission he began to run in the direction of the magic picking up speed with each step. He was almost a blur moving through the battle as he approached his target and when he saw a tuft of white hair being surrounded by several soldiers his instincts kicked in quick to protect.
In one swift motion did he take down each and every soldier that was going to attack her. He slid to stop his back to her and glared out to the down soldiers. When he knew they weren't getting back up he eased and stood straight. He heard a soft gasp from behind him. That only more confirmed it and made it all the harder to not turn back and look at her. But he knew he couldn't. If he did, he wouldn't be able to contain his emotions. Even though they stood in the middle of a raging battle the tense silence between them rung louder. Soler took a long breath and let out a haggard sigh. He then looked up with closed eyes and an eased smile.
"I-I have too much to say with no time to say it. But what I can say now, is that you've grown so much." she said nothing back to him though she didn't need to. He could understand what she was feeling easily enough. Then without another word he dashed off leaving her to the battle. She watched Soler leave and a single tear fell down her face. It was like looking at a ghost.
"Lisanna!" she snapped out of her thought so see Elfman running up to her.
"Sis I saw you were getting surrounded. But uh-" he stopped and surveyed all the downed soldiers around her, "But I see you handled it. You alright?" he asked her. She quickly wiped away the tears.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's go Elfman!" she didn't wait for a response as she ran back off into the fight. Elfman watched her go and then to the surrounding soldiers.
"Did she really take down all of these men by herself?" he wondered before going to join her.
Alice surveyed the battle. Irritation was taking over as all her strategies were falling apart because of Fairy Tail again. She gripped the reigns of her Legion tightly.
"Damn those mages! They're getting in the way again!" In her thought, she quickly remembered her true goal and went to search for it. "Wait where is Soler?" As she thought the question, she sensed energy coming her way and she was quick to pull her legion to the side. She was lucky for an energy spear to whizz past her seconds later. She looked down under her to see Soler glaring up at her. He pointed out to an open area and without waiting he dashed off to the area. She gritted her teeth in anger but just as quickly she calmed herself.
"I need to stay in control. If I let him get to me again it'll just be like last time. I'm going to take him down this time." with her emotions in check she pulled on her Legion and went out to meet him.
Soler stood in the middle of a large open plain void of all life. The nearest trees were more than far enough for any big blast to miss them.
"Good I don't want a repeat the whole Laxus fight." he remembered the damage of that one and refused to destroy nature that bad again. The sounds of flapping wings brought him out of his thoughts as he gazed up into the sky. He was met with the site of a Legion as it hovered high above. Then he saw a person jump from its back coming to the ground. He let out one last sigh trying to ease his nerves as she watched Alice land before him.
"It's finally time." Alice stood up from her crouched landing and looked over to Soler. Her gaze was surprisingly steady. In fact, it was honestly hard for Soler to read her. It was better than how manic she was from last time for sure. But he was hoping for something. He shook away the thought and put on an eased smile.
"Good to see you made it. I was afraid that you weren't going to show." he joked. Alice balled her fist a bit tighter.
"It's hard to not follow when someone throws an attack at you." she replied. She eyed his wound from her attack earlier to see it looked partly healed. "I see you got someone to heal up my attack from earlier." she pointed out. Soler nodded gently placing a hand on what she spoke of.
"Yeah I wanted to look my best for our last fight," he explained. Last fight. It hung in the air over both fighters as they knew after this was over all that needed to be said would be and maybe one of them would be dead. Alice said nothing back to him which didn't sit well with Soler.
"Your right this will be our last fight Soler. And when it's over you'll pay for everything." she declared this with a cold solemnity. Her words sent a chill down his spine. And guilt followed right behind it.
"Hey Alice, I-"
"No! Don't you dare try to talk your way out of this!" she snapped at him quickly. It took him off guard. Her calm had instantly vanished as he noticed her slight trembling. "You've said enough. Now you just need to die!" without wasting a beat her gauntlet powered up as she slammed her hands to the ground. The moment they made contact a thin layer of ice spread out over the field between and around them. It passed under Soler's feet and he wobbled a bit to keep balance. He took a step and almost slipped again.
"Damn it's slick!" he had to shelve the grip problem for he had to pulse his energy to block Alice's ice blade that came slashing down on him. How she moved so fast on this ice he didn't know but she was pushing him back easily. Her anger-filled eyes were locked onto his surprised ones as she began her assault. She formed the second blade on the other gauntlet and began to slash at him to get an opening.
Putting energy to his other arm he put it up to help his defense as Alice was pushing him around the field. She was gliding around him attacking from multiple angles with precision and speed keeping him on his toes. But with the slippery ice his usually strong guard was incredibly weakened from lack of grip. Soler couldn't even take a step in fear that he would slip and Alice knew it for every other slash she went for his legs.
He was quick enough to block the attacks, but it would always leave some other part of him open for an attack. And she took every opening. She was getting in attacks leaving slash marks on him. After the fifth one, Soler needed to get out of this. He blocked one more attack and jumped to his highest to try and get out. It was a bad move. Alice was waiting for him to do this for as the moment he did she quickly dropped her blades and formed her bow. And in one solid motion did she form an ice arrow and fire it off aiming for his leg.
The quick shot mixed with Soler being mid-air and the weak jump all culminated in the shot hitting its mark. Soler winced in pain as he felt a similar rush of numbing cold pierce his leg. He saw the ice pillar form and he knew the fight though only getting started wasn't going in his favor. He tried to land smoothly but wound caused him to hit the ground hard sliding a few feet. The ice-breaking apart only added to the pain
"Damnit." he groaned. Alice finally broke a smile at the sight of him down. She was glad she remembered the attack. Not wanting to waste a beat she pounded down to the ground causing ice spikes to race towards him. Soler saw the attack coming and tried to get up but both ice and his injury were slowing him down. Fed up he focused some energy to his feet forming mini spears on the bottom of his shoes. In one motion he pushed through the pain and rolled himself out of the way of the attack, narrowly missed by the spikes. He came to a stop and winced from his wound but shakily stood back up.
"Alice, I don't want to fight you." he strained to say. Alice quickly looked at him astonished. His words quickly switched that to rage as she glared at him.
"You weren't supposed to get up from that. Why won't you just go down!" she shouted back. Soler shook his head.
"You're not even listening to me are you. Alice, we don't have to fight. Please I just...I just want to make things right between us." he sincerely spoke. Alice's anger was rising at his every word. He was still not fighting her. He was still spewing nonsense. He was just trying to manipulate her mind and heart again. Like he had been since they met.
"Make things, right? Make things right!?" her voice raised up in volume. Her gauntlets began to glow with magic as a new level of cold washed over the area. "If it weren't for you then things wouldn't need to be 'made right'. I'd be just fine how I was. Without you messing things up!" her magic flared to life as she formed an ice glaive in her hands. She then lunged at Soler with the newly formed weapon. Soler saw the attack coming but when he put pressure on his leg to dodge the pain caused him to flinch. Big jumps not an option he pulsed the energy on his hands and caught the heavy swing between his palms.
Alice pushed down into her attack causing Soler to fall to one knee as the chilled blade was inching closer to his face. With some effort did he twist the blade to the side throwing off Alice's balance. Seeing his opening Soler went in with an unsteady punch to her gut. He thought he'd make contact but Alice used her weapon as a prop to stop her fall and she caught the punch. The moment she caught his fist ice like claws grew from the gauntlet fingers and they dung into Soler's hand. That added in with the fact she was freezing his hand he regretted throwing the punch. Not being done Alice yanked his arm towards her causing him to fall forward. He didn't get to meet the ground for she quickly kneed him under his chin knocking him up to his feet. But her grip didn't lessen for she then twirled him around and hurled him into the air.
Soler got a deadly cause of deja vu the moment he entered the air space. He was right to get the feeling for the moment he was up she dropped her glaive and formed her bow and arrows again. This time she prepped 3 arrows all aimed for his chest and let lose the shoots sending them streaking through the sky. He's able to see the shots coming and, in a panic, he formed 3 spears of his own and threw them at the arrows. He was fearful his rushed attack would miss but all 3 hit their targets detonating the shots midair. He smirked looking at his work but that went away when his left shoulder felt the same piercing cold from before. His eyes widened in shock as she saw the same similar ice pillar form from conformation that she attacked him.
As he fell, he was able to see Alice's devilish smile at seeing she hit her mark again. He grimaced.
"She hid the fourth shot within the dust. I should've seen it coming." He gripped to himself. She watched him fall her eyes hungry to cause him more pain. Around her gauntlets, she coated them with a thick layer of ice forming ice claws. And on her graves, she did similar forming another set of ice claws. Then timing her movement, she bolted right towards Soler's falling form. All he could do was watch her speedy assault paying attention to the skating like movements that pushed her speed. But his gazing came to an end when he met her eyes upside down and her crazed smile. Alice put pressed her palms together sticking the claws outward and in a powerful trust, she put them into Soler.
Not only did the trust knock the wind out of him but the claws dug deep into his flesh drawing more of his blood. But that wasn't the end of her attack as when he got flying from her ice formed from the holes covering his chest. He already knew what was going to happen next. The moment he landed on his chest the ice shattered sending more smaller shards into his skin. Alice watched his body crunch as it bounced off the ice sliding to limp stop. She stared at his unmoving form as her breathing got under control. She looked down to her hands to see her claws were dripping with his life essence. And the sight sent a thrill through her.
Soler shuddered as he began to move. The ice must have built up within him or something for even his breathing was cold now. Hell just about everything felt cold but it didn't stop the heated pain from flaring up with each movement.
"Damnit." he groaned as he got on all fours. His throat swelled causing him to hack up something. He looked to see he hacked up his own blood. The sight of it made his mind panic only for a moment but it calmed just as quickly.
"I knew what I was getting myself into. But still." it took him a moment, and a lot of effort, but he slowly stood himself back up. Even though his body was protesting him he was quickly learning to let his adrenaline take over to numb out the pain. He stood tall on his feet breathing heavily as he stared out to Alice. She smiled seeing him up.
"Tell me are you finally ready to die? Have you realized you're not leaving her alive? Well have you!" she paraded him. He said nothing instead just focusing on his breathing. When she got no response, she shook her head a smile on her face.
"He's dead on his feet." instead of running over to him she walked over. He was no longer a threat to her anymore so why try and pretend as he still was. She knew it and he knew it. This fight was over. Much like his life was. Soler didn't move as she heard her approach. He just stayed in place breathing heavily. Alice strolled calmly up to him and stood in front of him her smile reaching from ear to ear.
"Not gonna fight back anymore huh?" she teased him. He said nothing. His silence was going to sour her kill, but it didn't matter in the end. She grabbed him by his shirt and lifted him up above her. She had dropped her ice claws and switched back to a simple ice blade to finish him off. Her smile didn't lessen as she had him lifted above her helpless and defeated.
"So any last words then? After all this I figured you'd have at least something to say so go ahead and say it. I want to remember them." she said darkly. Soler's head had dipped down preventing her from seeing his eyes. It was irritating she couldn't see his despair and that he was still silent. "Hey, you could at least look me in the eyes before I end you!" she shouted at him. Then ever slowly did Soler begin to move his head up. She was ready to see his despair and hear some manic excuse to let him live. She's heard it dozens of times before but this time it would be oh too sweet. But when their eyes met, she instantly lost her smile. He didn't look scared or hopeless or deep in despair. No, he stared at her with pure determination and conviction.
"Alice we aren't enemies. We never were." he said to her with just as much conviction as his eyes held. The strength behind them shook Alice. Now she was stuck staring back into his emerald eyes and lost. She was so taken back that without even realizing it she had lowered him back to the ground gently.
"He still believes. He still…" Soler watched her in silence as she dipped her head down keeping her eyes from him. His gaze softened a bit.
"Alice, I know you might not believe but. But I'm sorry for everything." Alice's body twitched at hearing that. Ever so slowly did she look at him with her eyes wide and full of shock.
"You, you what?" she quietly repeated. His smile lessened a bit.
"I said I'm sorry. I didn't mean for all of this to get to where they are between us. It's, I don't know. I just can't see you as my enemy." he explained. If Alice's brain was stuttering before, his words were only causing it to shatter completely. Without her even knowing tears had begun to stream down her face. The affection she felt for him was returning in her heart but just as much as it was returning so was the other strong emotion, she held for him. And the more she thought about it the more the other strong emotion was beginning to take over.
Soler thought the fight was over but when she looked away from him and her magic began to rise again, he was thoroughly surprised.
"Uh, Alice? Were done fighting right?" he asked, reaching to her. But when Alice let out a loud frustrated scream her magic pulsed pushing his hand back with an icy chill. Soler had to take a step back as the immediate area around her was quickly growing colder.
"Are we done fighting? Are we done!?" Alice whipped up to look at him and he was shocked to see her tears had frozen over as she stared icily at him. "You think your words are enough to just fix all this? No, you don't get out with just your words." her town grew deadly as she placed her hands together to form a claw shape with them. Soler immediately didn't like this as he felt it seemed like all of the gauntlet magic was being pushed into her next attack. "The only way for you to make it up is to give your life." the moment the words left her mouth Soler only saw a glimpse of the start of the attack. All he knew was that one moment he was on the ground and the next he was being dragged into the air at rapid speed. And his entire right arm hurt like hell.
He snapped out of his daze to look over to see that Alice had formed a giant dragon-like serpent and it had his arm in it's icy teeth. Now recognizing the treat Soler yelped in pain as he felt the icy dagger-like teeth sink into his arm. He didn't wait to pulse his energy back out into his arms and with his free hand he broke apart its teeth freeing the arm. But though his arm was free his he felt pain shoot out from his shoulder when moving it suddenly. Soler grabbed onto the mouth of the ice dragon as it took him higher into the air. He then flipped himself onto the head of the serpent as he felt it lost its speed.
Alice saw this and with a flick of her hand did she form two more ice dragons out of the body of the main one. Soler saw the two new dragons moving in on him at high speeds and for once he was stuck as he just watched them come.
"Huh, so this must really be it then. She honestly can't understand me." he sat and watched them grow close, unable to move. But just as they neared a sudden memory flashed back to him.
Soler was sitting on a bench in the old guild hall and was a bit frustrated. He and Erza had gotten done with another job but it didn't go as smoothly as with would have liked. Tension was already high from how stressful it was even for two S-Class wizards so when the slip up happened Soler kind of exploded on her. Erza being her didn't take it sitting down and she went back off on him. The two had argued for the whole trip home and once they got back, they separated and hadn't spoken since. That was two days ago. He had time to cool off and think over things and wanted to apologize but every time he tried to Erza would either ignore him completely or scoff him off to go do something else. He had really made her mad. He groaned and laid his head on the table.
"What am I going to do?" he sighed to himself.
"Why so glum pal?" Soler looked up to see Natsu standing over him with Happy hovering near close. Soler sighed.
"Nothing you could help with sadly." he responded and put his head back down. Natsu looked confused while Happy looked sadden and flew down to Soler's head. He gently placed a paw on him trying to soothe him.
"Is this because of Erza?" he asked. Soler gave a grunt in response. Now Natsu was even more confused.
"Wait something happened with you and Erza? Why not just go talk to her? You two have always been tight." he responded. Soler finally sat up at that.
"Trust me I've tried. But that woman is just too stubborn to listen to me." he replied back. Happy went and landed onto Soler's head to give him more sympathetic pats.
"It is Erza." he responded. Soler chuckled.
"Tell me about it Happy." he then let out another sigh as he put his chin in his hands. Nastu pondered on Soler's problem for a moment before the answer came to him much like his toothy smile.
"Dude the solution is simple." he said. Both Soler and Happy eyed him wearily.
"And the solution is?"
"You just need to have a fight with her duh." he said confidently. Soler and Happy both just stared at the mage blankly.
"I need to fight her to apologize?" he repeated slowly. Natsu nodded.
"Yep a good fight will help settle everything." he responded. Soler looked up to Happy for help here. The cat understood and flew over to his friend.
"Natsu I don't think a fight will help them understand each other better." he told him. Natsu shook his head.
"Of course, it will, little buddy. A good fight is how everything is settled." he responded. Soler sighed and rubbed his head. This was Natsu he was dealing with he should have expected this.
"Natsu I agree that sometimes a good spar will settle somethings but not something like this. This isn't a competition, it's more about getting out feelings and stuff." he told him trying to be clear. Natsu didn't flinch and nodded.
"Well duh. That's why I said a fight." Soler brain was quickly getting strained from this conversation.
"Ok so how does me beating Erza or her beating me help us tell each other how we feel?" he asked the dragon slayer. Now Natsu gave him a confused looked.
"I never said anything about winning. I said just you two fight. Your fist never lie when it comes to a person's emotions. So, if you two can't say how you fell let your fist do the talking for you. It's way simpler than whatever you were planning to do." he answered. As much as Soler wanted to disown Natsu there was something about what he said that resonated with him. Erza isn't the type that allowed words to settle big disputes, but she did listen to actions. Soler pondered for a moment this. Then he suddenly stood up surprising Happy while Natsu just keep his smirk.
"So, going to take my advice?" he questioned. Soler gave him a quick nod.
"You may be on to something Natsu. I gotta go." Soler got up from the bench and quickly left to go find Erza. Natsu watched him with a proud smile while Happy looked confused.
"What just happened?" he questioned.
"Soler just took my advice to heart is all." Natsu explained.
Soler's eyes widen at the memory. Then with strength unknown, he dipped under both attack dragon heads as they missed him.
"If my words won't reach her." he began to charge his energy in his fist. He stared down at Alice who was staring directly at him. "Then I guess my actions will have to." then in a burst of new resolve he pushed his sore muscles to move him forward. He lurched forward using gravity to move him faster and faster down the spine of the dragon straight to Alice as his energy only grew with each step.
Alice watched from the ground as Soler's energy glowed brightly as it neared her. But she wasn't concerned as she formed another set of dragons to attack him. Soler saw them coming and easily slid under the first and hopped over the other not losing any of his speed. He looked like a green streak of lighting coursing down to the ground. He wasn't stopping for anything. Alice's eyes now widened as fear slowly crept in and with it panic.
"No, no stay back!" she screamed as she raised her other hand to shoot out icicles at him. Soler dodged them too keeping his momentum. The panic began to overtake her thinking as she didn't want that attack to hit her. It felt far more powerful than anything he's thrown at her so far. In a move of desperation, she broke apart the ice dragon hoping to cause him to fall and lose his momentum. But Soler wasn't deterred for the moment he felt it begin to crumble. He leaped forward, keeping his speed. He was on the counteroffensive now and she was fearful of it.
"Stay away!" with her scream several ice shields formed to try and stop Soler. He saw the shields and was glad he stored up so much of his energy.
"Surge!" with the mental cry did his second form activate coating his entire body in his energy as all of it was being released for this one attack. He reached the first shield and with some effort, he punched out his fist and it easily shattered the first three shields. Alice had her hands up and was pumping as much magic as she could to keep up. But she knew she was losing. It didn't take long for the fourth shield to break then the fifth followed and the sixth leaving her final shield. And now that Soler was this close to her, she was feeling the full brunt of his energy and it was scary. She stared up into his eyes and found them to be white and streaking with power. But it only made her push back against him harder as she strained all she had.
Soler felt her resistance and pushed out more of his power. Because of how much energy he was putting out he looked like living energy that was desperately trying to break through her last barrier. The two were stuck in a stalemate for only moments before the first crack appeared in her shield. It sent a chill down her spine and only fired Soler up more. Seeing his chance he pushed out everything he had stored up not letting even an ounce go wasted.
Alice tried to push back to keep the shield up but she felt it. She felt the one thing that she was dreading to feel. She could feel the magic was fading away. With the first crack did another and then another until the entire shield was littered with them. And much like her thought of victory did the shield shatter giving her the full brunt of Soler power. It was only for a moment, only a brief second but Alice stood in awe at his power. It felt wild and unnatural yet tamed. It was contradictory much like Soler was. And next, when Soler made contact, she didn't remember hearing or feeling anything. For all she saw was everything go white as his energy consumed her.
Everything was black. And everything hurt. Well, everything stung badly. But it was weird that she wasn't sitting still, but was moving? With a bit of a strain, Alice slowly opened eyes even though they protested against it. Her head was resting on something and from what she could see it looked like the land was moving. Though very slowly and with a slight limp. It didn't take her but a moment to realize she was being carried, it was pretty evident with the feelings of arms wrapped around her legs. And from the limp and slight strain in the arms, she knew who was carrying her. But the bigger question was why?
Alice tried to move her head a bit to get a better look around but the stinging that followed halted her attempt.
"So, you're finally awake?" Soler's voice rang out. She didn't respond back instead choosing to shift slightly to be a bit comfier. Well, as comfy as she could be. He felt her move and stopped to do his best to consolidate and shift his weight too. Though it was rough with how injured he was. When he felt she was more secure he continued his slow and limped walking. It was silent between the two as he kept going to where their destination was. He was slightly concerned at her lack of response but if there was any time for him to say what he needed now would be the time.
"Alice. Listen I'm so sorry for everything I've done. I didn't mean to lead you the way I did and don't get me wrong I do have love for you but not in the romantic sense ya know. More like a daughter sense. I should have been clearer, or could I have been? I don't know, I just." a sighed escaped him causing his form to shrink a bit. "Just sorry alright. You don't have to forgive me or anything I just wanted you to know." he quickly said to finish his rant. It went quiet again after that. He did feel her shift again this time she laid her head sideways on his shoulder.
"You know you were the first guy that I ever fell for." Her voice was quiet far different than what he's experienced before. But he stayed silent, nevertheless. "Even though you are part of the guild I was sworn to eliminate, and from a different world entirely it still happened." she paused a moment and let out a breath to ease her emotions. She knew her heartbeat had picked up, but Soler hadn't made a move to notice. "Throughout all of my life people have only looked at me in two ways. Either I was looked down upon for being considered trash or I was looked up upon for being a knight with the King. But you didn't look down on me or felt you were inferior because of my power or title. You just talked to me as if I was a normal girl. Even though we fought several times you never once were afraid of me. In fact, it was the opposite. You just..." she paused again to try and keep her voice from trembling but with how things were and where she was, she was beginning to see little point in keeping it together now. With that did the first tear fall as she continued.
"You spoke like you knew me. I thought it was irritating at first, but it made me feel warm inside whenever you did. It made me feel wanted." her tears had begun to flow freely as she spoke now and her voice wasn't doing any better. But even though his shoulder was getting soaked with them Soler didn't say a word which only pushed her to continue. "Even though it was so short whenever you spoke to me whenever we were alone, I felt a connection to you. I wanted to learn more about you and your world. I wanted you to stand by my side. I wanted us to be together. It was a really short time, but I fell in love with you." saying it out loud was just as reliving as it was heartbreaking evident by the soft sobs that followed.
"I love you so much. It's so irrational that I fell for a guy in just a little amount of time but I did and when you didn't love me back the same way it hurt. It hurt so bad and I just wanted to make you feel the same pain I did. I wanted you to feel it too and I honestly hoped you would want to just fight. I wanted you to just hate me and want to beat me like I did you. It would have made things easier. But you didn't." she paused as a shudder left her body as another wave of sadness crashed over her. "You never fought me seriously. Not once did you form your spears against me. I could feel you didn't want to hurt me. You didn't want to fight me, and it just made it harder to stop loving you. Even now I still have these feelings for you, but I know you don't have them back, you'll never have them back. It just…"
"Hurts?" his voice surprised her for a moment but all she did was nod into his shoulder.
"It hurts so much. But they won't go away. Will they ever go away?" she questioned him. Soler hadn't looked back to her but after a moment he shrugged.
"I don't know. I feel that if the feelings weren't real then yeah, they would probably fade pretty quickly but if it is then I'd say they'll stick around for a while." he answered. Alice's form shrunk at his response. "But I also think that even if it doesn't fade, you'll learn to move forward and appreciate the feeling. I think just knowing what it's like to love someone is valuable. Not many people can they truly knew what it felt like to love someone other than themselves. Plus, even though it's not the exact same, I do love you back and that won't ever change." he answered. Alice didn't respond right away so she could absorb all he said. As she pondered her cries had slowed to small sniffles. She gazed back out to the road before them and then back to him.
"He loves me just not the same as I do. Is there value to that?" she wondered. But when she replayed the bit of him saying he loves her it made her heart flutter. But why? It wasn't the same love she had for him so why was his love still affecting her? It shouldn't be. But still it made her feel warm inside just to know he did love her, even if it wasn't the same. Her arms that had been draped over his shoulders she gently wrapped around him to be closer.
"Even if it's not the same. I could accept this at least. It's far too…"
"Comfy here." she softly mumbled out as she snuggled into his neck. Soler felt her movement and smiled softly.
"Getting comfy, are we?" he teased. A blush formed on her face.
"I could still kick you ya know." she replied. Soler chuckled at the threat.
"Well you kick me you'll lose your ride and once I go down, I won't be getting up for a while." he teased. Alice didn't have a reply to that feeling guilty for the injuries she gave him.
"I'm sorry about that by the way. I wasn't in the right mindset." she told him. Soler shook his head.
"Don't worry about it. It's all in the past now." he quickly told her. The two fell into a more comfortable silence now as Soler continued on. Alice was comfortably snuggled into his heck. His was far warmer than what Alice imagined. That added with the pace she could drift into a short nap. But a question nagged at her.
"Hey Soler. Where are we going?" she asked. Soler smirked at the question.
"Well going to meet up with our favorite person. They shouldn't be too far off by now." he responded. Alice wondered only for a moment who could mean before he came to a stop.
"And here they are." he said. Alice lifted her head up to see that he stopped at the edge of a crater. There was ruble from some building littered around the area. But looking down into the center she saw two red haired women barely clothed and both laying flat on their backs. Her eyes widen looking at them.
"Erza!" she absentmindedly shouted. Both women moved their heads to look at them and both eyes went wide.
"Alice?"
"Soler?" they said simultaneously. Soler smirked as he slowly made his way down the crater to them. He may have stumbled a bit but reached them with little problem.
"I think this is your stop." He teased Alice. She realized she was still holding on to him and quickly let go of him and got down from his back. Her muscles still stung but she could push through it to reach Erza who was still looking at her incredulously. Alice looked over her with worry for how banged up she looked.
"Are you ok?" she asked as she tried to look over her sister. In response she just smiled at her gesture.
"I'll be fine Alice. I just lost a fight with myself." she responded calmly. Erza (Earthland) looked over Soler's injuries with concern.
"I'm guessing you lost your fight?" she questioned. Soler shrugged and he plopped down next to her, his entire body rejoicing with relief.
"Well in injuries yeah I did but in the end I won." he responded. She shook her head but smiled softly, nevertheless.
"You were able to say everything I hope." Soler gazed over to Alice who was helping her sister sit up and was going over her injuries. He smiled gently looking at her.
"Yeah I believe so. Think Natsu and the others beat that false dragon?" he asked her. She did her best to shrug but it was a bit of a strain to do so.
"Its roars stopped a bit before our battle ended so I think so. Though I wonder if Mystogan's is ok?" she questioned.
"Eh that guys apart of Fairy Tail It'll take a bit more than that to keep him down." he responded. Erza smiled and nodded.
"I believe your right." Both gazed at each other's bodies to see the amount of damage it took and then together did they begin to laugh. It wasn't at each other but a laugh of relief of making it through all this, practically, unscathed. They really had made it. Both Knightwalkers watched the two and they couldn't help but smile at them. Though Alice seeing how close Soler was to his Erza made her a bit sad.
"Were you able to tell him?" Ezra's (Edolas) question came out of nowhere. Alice looked to her confused.
"Tell who what?" she asked. Erza just smirked looking at her sister's expression. She shook her head and went back to gazing.
"No one." she calmly replied leaving Alice more confused. As Soler's and Erza's laughter subsided they all fell into a calm silence. Both parties were too exhausted to fight and too injured. All feelings had been laid out in the open for them to take. Everything was truly calm. That was until they all witnessed a amazing spectacle. It could only be described as one as what looked like the world's essence was flying up into the air all around them. It was multicolored streaks that shifted and combined in random mystical ways and soared into the heavens. They all watched in amazement and wondered what it was.
"What is happening?" Alice wondered aloud. Before she could get a response both Soler and Erza's bodies began to glow that same white. They looked at their bodies in slight confusion.
"Soler?" she asked him just as confused. Soler did a quick sense of the area all he felt was magic moving upward. He even felt the magic within him and Erza as it was trying to join the magic.
"I think all of the magic is leaving this world." he answered quietly. The Knighwalker's both looked shocked.
"It's leaving? All of it?" Alice questioned. Soler nodded and he and Erza began to float.
"Yeah it's just a guess but that armor that your King must have used was probably consuming a massive amount of magic. From what I know dragons have always been the embodiment of magic so for there to be magic armor that could rival one it must have to use just as much magic. So maybe this world is just finally releasing it back to where it can be handled." he answered. Alice looked astounded and worried. A world without magic? What would happen? How would they all survive? Would they survive? What about the people? The thoughts ran through her mind as panic was ready to set in, but a hand placed on her shoulder ended her thoughts. She looked over to her sister's smiling face.
"We'll be fine Alice. Don't worry." she gently said. Alice gazed into her sister's eyes for a long moment. She was searching them worriedly for any lack of conviction but she only found it in its purest form. They would be alright in the end. Even without magic they would survive. Together. She placed a hand over her sisters and gently smiled back and nodded. Soler smiled watching the two and looked over to Erza to see even she was smiling at the sisters. He then took her hand and intertwined their fingers. She looked at him and with a loving gaze and she squeeze his hand gently. As they ascended, he looked back down the Knightwalkers.
"Hey Alice!" he shouted. She stopped looking at her sister to look up to him not even realizing he had gone up so high. He gave her one last big smile and thumbs up. "I hope we get to meet again someday in future. I can't wait to see how much you'll grow!" he shouted to her. A single tear rolled down her face as the pain of him leaving was catching up, but she wasn't to cry again in front of him. So, she put on a brave smile and waved back.
"Yeah I can't wait!" she shouted back. He nodded to her and then the Knightwalkers sisters watched as both turned to light and went into the sky. Both sisters watched all the magic fade into the sky and let everything settle. Alice went to check her gauntlets and saw that they were no longer powered. The magic crystals in then were empty.
'The magic really is gone then." she said absentmindedly as she took them off and the greaves. Erza nodded as she slowly tried to rise. Alice saw her strain and helped her get up to her feet.
"We should get back to the capital and see what has happened. I'm sure everything is a mess." she said. Alice nodded and helped her to begin their way. But as they made their way to the capital a strong breeze blew by them and in the breeze did something black get caught on the rubble before them. Both looked at it curiously and approached. When they got close, they noticed a familiar emblem on the back of it. Alice's eyes widened at it and she gave Erza a pleading look. Her sister only smiled and motioned for it. She helped Erza prop up against a similar pillar and went over to the black item. She picked it up to see it was a long sleeveless overcoat. It had fur lining the bottom and on its hood with the Fairy Tail emblem on the back big and proud. Alice just stared incredulously, and she felt tears wanting to well up at the site of it.
"Put it on." Erza's voice snapped her out of her staring as she quickly looked to her then back to the coat. Alice took off her cloak and put on the new overcoat. It was just a bit big as its tail trailed all the way down her legs stopping just at her ankles. Erza noticed how well it fitted her as the breeze blew it just a bit to show it off more.
"It suits you." she told her. Alice did a quick twirl of it and looked to her sister with a gentle smile as the warmth in her heart returned.
"Yeah it really does, doesn't it?"
The world shifted and churned in the darkness for Soler. His body was weightless as it contorted with the wills of the magic flow. And then in an instinct he felt solid ground under him and the trickle of rain landing on him. He slowly opened his eyes to see that he and Erza were standing on the edge of a forest. He looked around to examine the area much like Erza was doing and it took him a few moments, but he was able to recognize the area. This was a section of the forest that sat just near Magnolia. In fact, looking just a bit west he could see the edges of the church. They were home. All at once did Soler's body give out and he fell to one knee.
"We finally made it back. Thank the gods." he exclaimed. Erza giggled at his expression then feeling the dampness of the rain she requiped into her normal armor.
"Yes, its good to be back and see that things are ok. Though I wonder where the others could be?" she asked aloud. Soler gave a tired wave.
"I'm sure they'll find us, or we'll find them." he responded. Erza nodded and began to walk towards town. But after a few steps she noticed that Soler wasn't following. She looked back to see he was still on the ground and was looking more exhausted than before.
"Do you need help?" she asked. Soler looked to his arm, shoulder, and leg then back to her and gave a sad nod. She giggled again at how much he looked like a child with his expression, but she went over and helped him up. She slung his arm around her shoulder and grabbed his waist to hoist him up to his feet.
"Thank you dear." he said weakly. Erza rolled her eyes with a smirk.
"Anytime honey." she teased back. That got Soler to smile a bit. Just as the two were ready to move out the sounds of shuffling bushes caught their attention. They looked to see the others coming out from within the forest. They all looked to be rough from battle but they all had smiles on their faces. But the biggest one was Alice's face when she saw Soler and Erza.
"Soler! Erza!" she screamed as she charged the two. She slammed into the two almost toppling them as she tried to hug them both. Soler and Erza smiled gently at her and though he was hurt the two brought her in to comfier hug. When they broke Soler saw the excitement on Alice's face.
"I'm guessing from the look something cool must have happened huh?" he questioned. Alice nearly exploded with joy at his question.
"Something cool did happen! You should have seen the fight with that dragon armor we were awesome!" she exclaimed. Soler smiled and patted her head.
"I'm sure you guys were. It must have been a easy fight when fighting with the others huh?" he asked. Alice nodded quickly as she remembered his words from earlier.
"Yeah it was." He nodded and with a bit of a wobble he stood back up to his feet and as he did the others all came up to them smiles abound.
"I'm so glad to see you guys made it back. I was afraid all of weren't going to make it." Lucy spoke. Natsu only chuckled.
"Aw come on Luc we were kicking some serious ass back there. Ain't that right little buddy?" Happy was quick to nod in glee.
"Aye sir! And we were able to save the Exceeds too!" he responded. Soler looked confused.
"Saved the Exceeds? How?" he asked. No sooner after the words left his mouth did the group witness dozens of Exceeds drifting around the sky all cheering and laughing about. It looked like the entire race had been saved and brought to Earthland with the magic. Soler made a mental note to ask about the Exceeds later but for now he was glad to see them well.
"Yes, we have and I thank you dearly for that." the elegant matured voice came from above them. They all looked up to see an Exceed that looked far more mature than the rest of them. She had white fur and grey with what looked to be diamond jewels entrusted around her eyes. She wore a simple purple sleeveless shirt and a lighter shade of purple puffy pants. She was being accompanied by two others Exceeds wearing hooded garbs and they floated her down to the ground. Once she was down several other older 'sage' looking exceeds wearing similar cloaks accompanied her.
Judging off looks alone she easily resembled Carla and even with a quick scan of their energies they felt similar. But judging from how shocked both the rest looked he guessed none of them expected them to be here. Carla was the first one who stepped up in a huff.
"What are you all doing here?" she questioned. The other Exceed seemed to hesitate for a moment before looking directly at her.
"When the magic got sent away all of the Exceeds are sent with it since we have natural magic within us. I know you weren't expecting to see us again but please I ask that you allow us to stay and make a new home here." she was quick to bow to Carla which was quite surprising. Even if Soler didn't know who she was he could tell she had a lot of authority and or power. But the way her eyes were pleading while looking to Carla spoke for what he theorized. Carla looked to her with mixed emotions but after a moment she let out a sigh.
"Fine you may stay. It's not like we would have sent you back either way." she responded. The lead Exceed looked back a slow but heartfelt smile spread on her face. He even could have sworn he saw a tear. She straightened up and nodded.
"Thank you, Carla." she said. Soler watched Carla act as indignant as ever.
"There is no reason to thank me. But don't cause any trou-" her lecture was halted by the other Exceed who had quickly brought her in for a hug. Carla looked stunned at the sudden contact but at the same time she wasn't resisting it either. After a moment did the Exceed break the hug and stepped back with a bright smile.
"I promise we won't be causing you any trouble. I try and help them find a place to call our own." she said. Carla was obviously still stunned but she composed herself as best she could and looked away.
"You better." she replied. That only made the other smile more as a blue Exceed flew down and picked her up. Then they all watched as the Exceeds flew away in cheers at finding a new home. It was heartwarming to see them happy. It made all the fighting worth it. Well to most it was. Gajeel on the other hand was looking around getting irritated.
"That are you looking for Metal head?" Natsu asked. Gajeel didn't even bat an eye at the taunt.
"I'm looking for my cat salamander. He's far cooler than either one of your dumb cats!" he gloated. Natsu looked offended while Wendy just smiled weakly.
"Well I don't see any of them that stayed behind. He must've decided not to follow you." Natsu retorted. Now that got a rise out of Gajeel as the next moment he was in Natsu's face.
"What was that?" he questioned as the little magic he had was rising. Natsu wasn't backing down as he magic was starting to rise as well.
"You heard me!" he replied. They must have been back if those two were already getting back into a fight.
"Hey! Let me go!" the voice silenced both the dragon slayers. The voice easily made Soler's heart drop as he looked out with a shook expression. The group watched as through the bushes did a small black Exceed wearing green pants come walking out with a rope.
"Quit your squirming." he noticed Gajeel as he tugged on the rope. "I caught someone trying to escape." he said and out from behind him wearing a blue tank top with crossed straps, a white long skirt, a sash with the Fairy Tail mark wrapped around her waist and sandals and with shorter hair did Lisanna coming walking out. Erza, Natsu, Gray, Happy and Soler all gawked at her in stunned silence while the rest watched stunned. Gajeel was quick to praise his cat.
"That's my cat! Told ya he's cooler than yours!" he boasted. Lisanna struggled against the ropes.
"I told you I wasn't trying to escape. I'm not even an enemy." she exclaimed. The cat didn't listen and tugged on it again causing her to fall to her knees. "Hey ease up cat!"
"Quiet prisoner and my name is Pantherlily." he responded and Gajeel was quick to back him up.
"Yeah if you gotta problem with my cat then you'll have to deal with me first." he said. Lisanna only glared at him for a moment before looking at the others. Natsu was the closest to her and he was too stunned to even move.
"Lisanna?" he quietly said. Lucy, Wendy, And Alice all looked concerned.
"Wait is that the Lisanna from Edolas? How did she get here?" Lucy questioned in shock.
"Do you think she got sucked up with us somehow?" Wendy wondered. Gray and Erza were both still reeling from seeing her.
"She looks just like our Lisanna." Gray commented.
"Yes, she does." Erza added in. Soler on the other hand was dead silent. Natsu took a hesitant step towards her getting her to look to him.
"Lisanna is that-'' his question got quickly answered as she rushed him in a burst of speed tackling him to the ground.
"Natsu! It's really you!" she cheered as tears began to form. She was on top of him and he was stuck just staring at her as her tears began to fall. "I never thought I'd see you again." her voice trembled. Natsu said nothing still too stunned. While he was, Lisanna looked to Happy and quickly scooped him up bringing him close.
"Oh, Happy I'm happy to see you again!" she said nuzzling the confused cat. She stopped her nuzzling to look up to Erza and Gray who had been quiet.
'Erza Gray it's good to see you again too." She then turned to Lucy, Wendy, Carla and Alice.
"And you three must be the new members. You two look like and younger versions of Wendy and Alice. And good to see you took Lucy." she said. Then her eyes feel to Soler whose bangs were covering his eyes. "And it's good to see you too Soler." she said softly. He flinched at her saying his name, but he said nothing. Gray lifted a finger at her.
"Wait a sec a-are you our Lisanna?" he asked. Lisanna still had some tears falling but gave him a quick nod. That was all it took for Natsu and Happy to want to go back in beginning to welcome her back with tears on their eyes. But Erza was quick to halt them. She looked to Lisanna with an indifferent glare.
"That's not possible. Our Lisanna died two years ago and there was no way of saving her." she quickly said taking a quick glance back to Soler who was still silent. Lisanna seemed prepared for the accusation.
"Well you see I didn't really die that day." and so she went and explained everything that happened. How at the same moment Elfman knocked her off the cliff she switched places with the Edolas Lisanna through the King stealing magic, inadvertently being saved. She lived her life with the Fairy Tail of Edolas happily but when she saw Natsu and Happy she knew things were going to change. Natsu understood but still looked confused.
"But wait why did you say you didn't know us back then?" he asked her. Lisanna had been let free and was standing up again. She looked to the side and shook her head with a crestfallen smile.
"It just wasn't the right time yet. I knew I just had to wait till everything was over first. I just didn't expect things to have ended with me being sent back here." she replied. Everyone just looked at her in silence as they processed the information. It all sounded too good to be true at least to Erza. She went to try and question but a hand on her shoulder stopped her. She looked to Soler, but his head was still drooped enough so his bangs covered his eyes, but slowly did he walk out to her. Nobody went to stop him even Lisanna just stood in place watching him get closer. Her heartbeat had begun to quicken the closer he got to her. Then when he was standing just before her did, he slowly take up both her hands. And it was then that she felt just hard he was trembling. And when she looked up to his eyes her heart practically shattered at the sight of his tears falling and pain filled face.
"I'm so sorry!" with that did he fall to his knees and in one uncontrolled moment did all his pent-up emotions come out of him in his wails. He wailed for him not saving her, he wailed for the guilt of not being able to do anything to stop it, he wailed for all the pent-up hatred he had for himself. Everything that was with him just seemed to fall out without his say so. Everyone else just stared at the site of one of the guilds strongest in such a broken state. And where some might have seen weakness all that they saw was a man that had been harboring everything for too long and was finally getting his break. Lisanna was stunned at seeing Soler in such a state for a moment. But it quickly faded as her own tears came back. She then knelt to him and brought him into an embrace keeping him close as she cried.
"It's ok. I forgive you." she quietly said. The words seemed to have struck something even deeper within Soler as a new set of wails escaped him. The others watched them with gentle smiles and even a few tears, even Erza had some tears, as Soler was finally getting the healing he desperately needed.
It was pouring hard in Magnolia today and it seemed like there was going to be no end in the downpour. But it didn't deter the two Strauss siblings as they were currently with their sibling over looking at her grave. Mira was placing flowers on the grave as a few tears escaped her doing so. Elfman had his own tears as he held the umbrella to shield her from the downpour. It was tradition to go and visit their sister on the day of her death, but this time Mira was hoping that it wouldn't be just the two of them today. But from how it seemed Soler must still not have had the strength to come. And though it hurt her she partially understood and hoped that when she saw him later, she could try and help him gain the strength to do so.
"I'm sorry Lisanna but I couldn't get him to see you today." she quietly prayed to the grave.
"Sorry I'm late." both Mira and Elfman perked up at the voice. A smile found its way to Mira's face as she turned to it.
"Soler you actually ca-" her voice was halted as both turned to see how damaged Soler was. Not only was he in bad shape but his eyes were a bit red and puffy, but he had a gentle smile on his face.
"How's it going?" he joked. Mira's eyes were filled with concern and worry looking at him.
"Soler what-" he put up his hand to silence her.
"I'll explain later. For now there's someone you need to meet." It was then Mira noticed a smaller form behind him and for some reason her heart beat picked up. Soler took a few steps to the side and both Mira and Elfman's hearts stopped for a moment, the umbrella he was holding going to the ground.
"L-Lisanna?" Mira cried. Lisanna didn't wait a moment after before running into her sisters awaiting arms crying once more. Elfman looked at his sisters, his own stunned tears falling.
"L-Lisanna?" his mouth said her name without thought. He watched the two embrace for another moment before he wrapped them both into his arms. All three of the siblings were crying their hearts out at being reunited and Soler watched with a soft smile at the scene. Not too far off was the rest of the group watching with smiles. Soler turned to leave to let them have their moment but when a hand grabbed his arm he stopped. He turned back to see Mira hand grabbed his hand and then in gentle tug was he brought into the warm embrace of the three siblings.
This is my longest by far. Hope you enjoyed and please tell my what ya think. This has been Solerwolf...later!