A/N: Merry Christmas, fellow readers. As I'm unfortunately not feeling too good as I write this, I'm going to be brief.
I'm sorry that I haven't made a response video for the last couple of chapters like I normally do, but I will get around to it as soon as I am able. It's one of my favorite parts of writing this story, really, so it'll be back soon.
Also, don't forget that I have a new story up that is titled 'Saiyan Tail Specials', which will feature OVA-styled chapters every now and again. The first one is called 'An Electric Christmas', and I had a lot of fun writing it, so I hope that you guys have fun reading it.
And speaking of fun reading...
War of the Underworld Arc: Chapter 1
Settlement
Fairy Tail was in the clutches of despair, and there were three of its wizards that were feeling the weight of sorrow with a far more acute sense than any of the others. The first was Makarov, his family having just received the news that Laxus and his Thunder Legion were deathly ill following the attack of a member of Tartaros, who had converted his flesh into bane particles- otherwise known as anti-magic particles- before the lightning wizard could put him down. They, along with Master Yajima, a former Magic Council member, would be coming in a matter of hours to receive medical treatment from Porlyusica. Unfortunately, about a hundred citizens of Fiore were not so lucky, and had died as a result of the Tartaros man's self-destruct magic.
The other two feeling the depressing weight on their shoulders were Kinana and Gorun, having had one of the happiest weeks in their lives suddenly turned on its head. The night that they were to announce their engagement had been interrupted with the alarming news that the entire Magic Council had been murdered. Further adding to the weight on his own shoulders, Gorun had been named a Wizard Saint, and was now tasked with tracking down the Tartaros guild so that the legal guilds could wage war proper against them. In less trying times, he would have considered the position a great honor, but because circumstances had more or less thrust the role upon him, he wasn't exactly thrilled about it.
And I have no idea where to start looking for them, he thought grimly. He had been collaborating with Jellal and Crime Sorcière for the last year in order to take down many key players in the Baram Alliance, but the lead guild had always managed to elude their detection. The only solid lead that Gorun had been able to track down was currently being pursued by his allies in the shadows, and he had no way of contacting them right now.
He suspected that someone in Tartaros had been responsible for the actions of a necromancer off the coast of Fiore, having encountered an entire battleship's worth of the living dead, but there was no real proof to back his theory. Not to mention that if there had been any clues on the ship carrying the walking cadavers, it was lost to him now, having been destroyed by his own efforts alongside Sabertooth's twin dragon slayers.
Now, having been ready to organize their guild members into teams to protect the former council members and track down Tartaros, they had received the news of Laxus' team fighting for their lives. Makarov had ordered him to stand down for now, so that they could wait and see his grandson before going out into the fray.
Gorun could hardly blame the old man for wanting some time to take in what had happened, but all the same, he felt that they should be acting now, before anything else awful happened. So it was that he was wrestling with himself when his team came to sit with him at his table, a plate of untouched food sitting in front of him.
"Wow, you must really be messed up," Romeo said with a grimace as he sat across from his leader. "I don't think I've ever seen you not eat before."
"Me too," Gorun said with a wry grin. "To be fair though, I don't think that I've ever felt this much pressure, either."
"At least you're not running away from your responsibility this time," Azura said with something that sounded close to sympathy. "And since I'll mark that as a significant improvement on your part, allow me to ask… How can we help you?"
Gorun blinked at her a few times, surprised beyond belief that she was volunteering to help him without first berating him savagely for his indecision. "Honestly…" he sighed heavily. "I'm open to ideas. I have no idea how on Earthland I'm supposed to find a guild that's spent the last several decades avoiding detection of all kinds. If anyone else has an idea for how to find them, please, help me." He knew that he wouldn't be able to enact whatever plan he came up with until he had Makarov's approval, but it didn't hurt to be prepared.
"Levy has been trying to look up places that they've been seen before to see if we can establish a pattern of movement," Kinana informed him. "The problem is, they almost never leave survivors wherever they're active, so it's hard to scrap up anything in the way of locational data."
"I'll ask my spirits if they know anything about Tartaros," Yukino volunteered. "If memory serves, the celestials and the followers of Zeref have some history between them. Perhaps Lucy and I can collaborate on this matter."
Gorun nodded quickly, saying, "See if you can get her Crux spirit on the job- he's supposed to know a lot of stuff, right?"
"Right away," the silver-haired girl nodded as she stood up and moved to find her peer.
"What can I do?" Romeo asked eagerly.
"Go help Levy," Gorun told him, somewhat to his friend's dismay. "I'll have someone go get you the minute that Makarov gives us the green flag to move out- assuming we have enough information to go on."
"Kay," Romeo sighed, still apparently unsatisfied with his task, but moving to do as he was asked, regardless.
As he walked away, Gorun turned to Kinana and said, "Can you please stay in here so that we know when Master is ready to get moving?"
"Are you going somewhere?" she asked him.
"Genora and I are going to train," he announced, surprising the both of them. "I need to do something active, and we've already got plenty of people doing research as it is. Besides, I need to try and help her tap into the god form on her own, especially if these Tartaros monsters are as powerful as everyone says they are."
"You really expect to be able to do that in just a few hours?" Kinana asked him dubiously.
"The greatest power comes in response to a need, not a desire," Gorun and Azura said in unison, then trading looks of surprise. Apparently it had not been a planned response on their part.
Shaking himself, Gorun explained, "So far it's just been more or less a competition between her and I, this goal of hers' to reach the god level. Now, though…"
"I must do this," Azura asserted. "Since this place is the only home I'll ever know now, I need to be strong enough to protect it from threats like this. Just like Vegeta was with Earth, so shall I become a guardian of Earthland."
"Finally coming around, huh?" Gorun teased her, prompting her to glare at him. "Sorry, let's get to work."
"Are these precautions really necessary?"
"You have not seen what I have described, Franmalth," said Keyes, a skeletal demon skilled in the arts of necromancy. "Humans are beneath us, yes, and so the majority of Fiore's guilds prove no match for the might of the Etherious. However, there are now two in the ranks of Fairy Tail- which according to Silver's reports and my own observations- that likely find their strength in the bloodline of something not of human origins."
"What then, are they celestials?" his comrade scoffed. Franmalth was another demon, strange to look at, even by the standards of others of his kind, what with his striped, round body that lacked a head, and lanky limbs that seemed to be as flexible as rope. "Even those moronic star-dwellers can't stand up to Sir Mard, so what are you so worked up about? This isn't gonna be cheap, you know!"
As they walked among the stasis chambers, Keyes paused in front of a particularly large one as he answered, "Overconfidence serves no purpose, even for beings such as we. Besides, think of it this way- should we succeed against this new threat, we will be that much closer to returning to Lord Zeref."
"Fine, fine," Franmalth grumbled as he walked on without looking back. "Let me know when the preparations are done. Lady Kyoka wants to be on the move sooner rather than later."
"Soon," Keyes muttered as he gazed into the dark tank, his vacant eyes underlined by a cruel smile. "What is the saying of these humans…? Third time's the charm?" So saying, he walked away, leaving a naked Minerva to continue her transformation from a dead human into a living Etherious.
"Ha… ha…" Genora breathed heavily, wiping sweat from her brow. She and Kaidon had been sparring nonstop on a small island chain far enough away to avoid causing damage to the city for nearly three hours now, with no sign from Kinana that it was time to return as of yet.
"Break time?" Kaidon suggested, brushing his fingers through his lengthy hair to rid it of his own sweat.
"Fine, five minutes," she huffed as she began floating down toward the ground, releasing her Mystic transformation simultaneously. After touching down, she muttered, "This is going slower than I would have hoped."
"Still can't sense my energy?" her cousin asked as he landed next to her, his red hair fading to black as he resumed his normal form.
"I can feel the pressure of your presence in the atmosphere around me, but no, I still can't actually track your energy," she grumbled. "Of course you'd be the one to be able to retain the god form. Not as though you've already got a tail to help you along." She was angry that, despite her best efforts so far, she had only been able to surpass Kaidon but once, and even then she had been defeated in combat, thanks to the Dragon Slayers of Fairy Tail. Now, with a new threat looming, one comparable to the phoenix, she found herself falling behind him yet again.
I will not be outdone by him this time, she vowed.
"Maybe we're approaching this the wrong way," the boy muttered as he stared off at the ocean. "You've already harnessed divine ki, and you clearly grew stronger for it, which means that the potential has to be in there, somewhere. Trying to lock onto my energy signature in order to replicate it has thus far failed, but I refuse to believe that you've lost the power completely…"
"I keep trying to raise my power level to what I remember experiencing during our battle over Veronica," Genora told him. "But no matter how high I go, the divine light eludes me."
"Well then, that's the issue," Kaidon said as he turned to her, a surprised look on his face. "Ascension to the god form doesn't require raising your strength an absurd amount- it does that on its own. You have to change the nature of your ki in order to tap into that power. Actually, wait, no… Change is the wrong word, more like you have to shift it."
"Care to elaborate?" she asked sardonically. "In case you forgot, we're on something of a time crunch."
"Shut up, I'm trying to," he grumbled. "Okay, bear with me on this. Try to imagine your ki as a set of the primary colors- yellow, red, and blue. Yellow is the color we normally paint with, right? Super Saiyan."
"You're trying to teach me to ascend… with art?" Genora asked, maintaining her flat tone.
"Hey, I'm the one with the divine energy figured out, take it or leave it," Kaidon shot back. When she stayed quiet, he gave a satisfied nod and continued, saying, "People often overcomplicate that which should be so simple. Whenever I can't figure out a problem, I always try to go back and examine it with the basest elements. So yeah, I am gonna teach you how to harness god ki with a color wheel."
Pausing to gather his thoughts, he then added, "Close your eyes, and reach for you ki- don't grasp it or raise it just yet."
Genora considered giving him a retort before complying, but as annoying as he was, Kaidon was able to transform into the god form on command. She would follow his lead- for now.
Closing her eyes, she reached for the power that was first nature for her people, but did not utilize it in any capacity, like Kaidon ordered her to. Having sensed that, he said, "Good. Now, unlike Super Saiyan, which requires rage, or channeling energy into your spine and then outside your body, you're going to focus on making that 'yellow' energy turn red, and spread it throughout your whole body. Try to send it along your bones instead of your normal ki paths- remember that you're changing the nature of your very existence when you're doing this, not just powering up your muscles and removing limiters on your consciousness in order to release more energy."
Genora began to breathe in and out slowly, concentrating on doing what he had described. As she gazed within herself, she forced her inner eye to view the vast pool of energy that belonged to her as a crimson color, like that of a light shining through a ruby. As soon as she felt that she had done so, she willed that power to spread throughout her body, etching the altered energy into the marrow of her existence.
As she did, she became aware of a vast, swirling maelstrom of power in front of her, unlike anything she had ever- No… she thought slowly as she opened her eyes. I've felt this before.
She blinked in surprise as she stared at her cousin, once again clad in a fiery red aura that matched his eyes and hair. I can sense him, she thought in wonder as she looked down at herself, eyes widening as she saw that same divine aura encasing her own body.
"Now that wasn't so hard, was it?" Kaidon grinned at her.
Meeting his eyes once again, she replied simply, "Thank you."
His gaze softening just a little, he answered, "You're welcome, Genora."
Kinana was surprised when the two of them returned on their own, coming through the door looking like they had been run over by a train. "Did you two go overboard?" she asked as they plopped down at one of the tables without a word.
"We made significant progress," Gorun answered with a tired grin. "She's gonna need some practice holding up, but now she better understands the god ki."
"So that's why I couldn't tell where you were for the last hour," the purple-haired girl said as she sat down beside him. "You finally did it?" This part was addressed to Azura, who bridled indignantly.
"What do you mean, 'finally'?" she grumbled. "The only ones to use the power of the Super Saiyan god without the advantage of divine heritage had to train for months before they could use it on their own, and here I've done it a matter of weeks."
"This is true," Gorun nodded. "She's really outdone herself- I think Grandpa Vegeta would be very proud."
"And simultaneously furious," Azura added, causing them both to laugh, which surprised Kinana. This was the best she'd seen them get along since the blue-haired girl had come into their lives. Perhaps now that they were closer to standing on equal footing in combat, they would be amicable towards one another in the other aspects of their life. At least, if Goku and Vegeta are anything to go by, she thought with a hidden smile. There's Natsu and Gajeel, too…
The good cheer was short-lived, as the Thunder Legion and Master Yajima were brought in not ten minutes later, immediately being rushed to the infirmary, where Porlyusica was already waiting to treat their illness. No one was allowed to visit the infirmary except for the healer and Makarov, on the off-chance that the bioweapon was contagious.
So it was left- unofficially- for Gorun to explain the situation as best he could to the rest of the guild. After gathering the members together, he stood up on the stage that was normally used for music performances and the like, with Azura standing beside him. Gazing out at the small sea of faces in front of him, he swallowed nervously, knowing that they were looking to someone, anyone, to explain what on Earthland had been happening over the last few days.
Then he steeled himself and began to speak, saying, "Hello, everyone. I'm sure you've heard bits and pieces of what's been going on in the last forty-eight hours, but I do believe it's time that you all know the full picture. As Master Makarov is tending to Laxus and his comrades, I'll fill you in. Firstly, as to why I'm the one doing so, the Wizard Saints of Fiore have named me one of them, as of yesterday afternoon." There was a ripple of surprise throughout the crowd, so he held up a hand for silence. Once they had settled down, he continued, "Part of the reason for them doing so was that- as I'm certain all of you already know about- the magic council was annihilated yesterday morning. What's less known is that one of the Emperors of Ishgar has fled our country to places unknown, and the other Saints feel it best that they are at full strength for the task that lies ahead."
"So are we gonna pulverize the bastards that did this to Laxus and the others, or not?!" Natsu shouted impatiently.
"Yes," Gorun nodded sharply. "However, this will not be an easy task, particularly given who our enemies are. Not to mention we must shield any other potential targets from their wrath… 'They' being the head of Baram Alliance: Tartaros."
He paused to allow for the inevitable uproar that the name would undoubtedly cause. He was not wrong- there was a lot more shouting and cries of disbelief and fear this time, and knew it was important to allow those fears to be recognized, rather than telling them to shut up and not allow them at least a few moments to process the vast task that had been given to them. And it was no small task indeed- Tartaros had been at the top of the council's most wanted list for decades, before a lot of the members present had even been born. No sane wizard would ever want to go near them, much less hunt them down or take a direct stand against them.
When Gorun felt that an appropriate amount of time had passed, he called for silence once again. As soon as things had died down enough for him to be heard over the subdued voices, he said, "I know this isn't ideal, but we don't have much choice. The council has been murdered, and with the attack on Master Yajima from a member of Tartaros, it is more than likely that the other former members are in grave danger, too. Now we are a guild filled with some of the most powerful wizards in all of Fiore. As such, it falls to us- among other guilds of influence- to protect the remaining former council members, and hunt down the people responsible for this. And if possible, we need to determine why the council members, current and former, are being targeted."
"We'll be splitting up into teams to handle both of these tasks simultaneously," Azura said when her cousin paused for breath. "The old man has been putting out feelers, trying to find out where the former council members are now, but as of yet, we have nothing. Until such a time as we do know, we are to remain idle. Postpone any job requests, as Makarov and Kaidon here will likely need every available wizard ready to go at the drop of a hat."
Nodding in appreciation, Gorun now addressed the guild once more. "I know I'm not the guild master," he told them. "I can't actually give you any binding orders. I only ask that as fellow member of this guild, that you wait with us as we prepare to confront this threat. Besides…" He set his jaw as he concluded, "I don't know about the rest of you, but I don't much like the idea of allowing Tartaros to roam freely after what they did to Laxus and the others. If I recall correctly, Fairy Tail doesn't allow those that hurt our family to get off lightly, do we?!"
"NO!" the crowd roared angrily, bringing a dangerous smile to his face.
"Then get ready for war!" he shouted back as he raised his hand upwards in the sign of the Fairy Tail salute. "Tartaros is going to regret the day that they raised a fist against us!" This time when the guild erupted with noise, it was not filled with the sounds of hopelessness and despair. These were the sounds of the enraged and valiant.
Gorun was about to go join the rest of his comrades when he noticed someone in the back- a person that did not join in the revelry, but simply stood there with a stoic expression on his face. It took him a moment, but he finally recognized Doranbolt- the man that had helped to keep his true powers a secret from the magic council, in return for a favor. Has he come to collect?
"Come with me," he said to Azura as he started to walk off the stage. "I get the feeling that someone has come to call in a favor. If I have to leave, you're in charge of the team until I return."
"How long do you assume you'll be?" she asked him as she followed suit so that they could keep talking in somewhat lowered tones.
"Ask him," Gorun answered as he pointed at Doranbolt, who was beginning to make his own approach.
The instant that they came within speaking distance, the other man said in a lowered tone, "We need to talk in private."
"You let him go?!" Gorun seethed, causing the other wizard to flinch. "Not only that, you let the entire guild out of prison without any idea of where they're headed?!" He and the former council employee had teleported to Gorun's house, and were now arguing on his front lawn.
"I had to!" Doranbolt shouted back. "He knew about Tartaros and their goals! Given my options, I decided on the lesser of two evils!"
Gorun glared at the man for a few moments before he growled, "Fine. Tell me their release was at least worth something that'll help us sort out this whole mess."
"It was," the scarred man replied. "Tartaros is after a weapon called 'Face'. I'm not entirely sure what it does, as it was a secret from all but any members of the Magic Council. Whatever it is, though, it seems that Tartaros needs to kill council members in order to get it."
"You're sure they're not trying to extract the information somehow?" Gorun inquired with a heavy frown.
"No, they're definitely going straight for the kill," Doranbolt said with a negative shake of his head. "The monster that destroyed the council… I saw him. Called himself Jackal, used some sort of explosion magic. He never even asked any questions of them, he just murdered them without flinching." He shuddered at the memory, and Gorun felt a little sorry for him.
"All right, so what does this all have to do with us?" Azura asked, having stayed mostly quiet for the meeting. "Our guild already has plans to protect the former members of the council, along with a few other guilds and the Ten Wizard Saints. We're also attempting to find out where Tartaros is."
"I wasn't finished yet," Doranbolt told them. "Cobra revealed a particularly disturbing piece of information before I let him go. He said that the Nine Gates aren't mere followers of Zeref- they're not even human."
Gorun felt a chill run down his spine as he interjected, "Let me guess- they're all Etherious."
"Demons of Zeref's creation, yes," Doranbolt said heavily. "They seek their master, and apparently 'Face' has something to do with them being able to find him."
"That is unsettling, but what does it change for us?" Azura asked. "Our course of action must remain the same, whether they be demons or human fanatics."
"True, but your comrade here owes me a debt," the human wizard told her. "As I'm sure you've already surmised, I've come to collect on that debt."
"And it couldn't wait until after we finish dealing with a national crisis?" Gorun growled.
"No, it can't," Doranbolt shot back. "Because I need you to meet up with Jellal and deal with the Oracion Seis."
Gorun blinked a couple of times in surprise before he asked, "Why us?"
"Because I gave them my word that I wouldn't go after them," the other man answered. "But I can't in good conscience allow that guild to run around freely while we also have to face Tartaros. With you and Jellal working together, I am confident that you can subdue them quickly enough to return to the crisis at hand."
"Go," Azura said before Gorun could think on it. "We'll handle things here until you get back." When he turned to argue, she shook her head and said, "You made a promise, and I suggest that you keep it, unless you want me to knock your teeth out. You've broken enough promises, I say. Go, kick this guild into the dirt, then come back. Fairy Tail will be waiting for you when you do."
"…All right," he muttered. "Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone."
"Me, that's no problem," Azura said with a smirk. "The guild… Well, no promises."
"Fair enough." Turning back to Doranbolt, he asked, "Where are they?"
"Jellal planned to intercept them in the mountains outside Crocus," the man answered. "Fly out there, and once you get close enough, I'm sure you'll be able to sense him."
"Protect them, Genora," Gorun commanded before he vanished into the sky.
Nonetheless, she replied, "Until your return, Kaidon."
He met up with Crime Sorcière at the foot of the mountains several hours later, just where Doranbolt had predicted they would be. As he descended upon them, he lowered his power level until it nearly bottomed out, as to hide himself from any unfriendly eyes.
"Gorun," Jellal nodded as he landed. "It's good to see you."
"As always, I wish our reunion was under better circumstances," the black-haired boy replied grimly. "Doranbolt already filled you in, I assume?"
"He came to us first, said he'd send you here within a few hours," Urtear answered from within her blue hood. "Fortunately for us, the Seis don't seem to be in any hurry."
"No doubt enjoying the feeling of fresh air and a chance to stretch their legs after seven years in prison," Meredy chimed in. "Let's not give 'em a chance to get used to it."
"Then grab on, so we can get moving," Gorun said as he held out his hand. "I've got work to do back at Fairy Tail, and I doubt that you guys were being idle when Doranbolt found you."
Begin Soundtrack: Nora Tan (by Taku Iwasaki)
"Well, that's that," Cobra said in a satisfied tone as he stood over the corpse of his former guild master. Glancing over his shoulder, he asked, "I take it you don't have a problem with this, eh, Macbeth?"
"Not at all," said a young man with black-and-white hair. He shrugged indifferently as he looked at the body of their fallen leader and murmured, "You may have gathered us, Father, but that's about the only good thing you ever did."
"True freedom, at long last," said a blond man with a long, sharp nose. "Now I guess the question is what we should do with it?"
"I'm hoping to go out and find my brother, oh yeah!" declared Hoteye, a large, blocky man dressed in the robes of a priest.
"I think we're gonna have to put our plans on hold for now…" Cobra said, his ears suddenly pricking up. "We got company." Whirling around, he pointed up the path that they had come from, indicating a trio of figures, all dressed in blue.
"Jellal Fernandez," said Angel, a beautiful young woman with long white hair. "I guess it would be too good to be true if we just got away, scot-free."
"Is this how Doranbolt plans to deal with us?" Cobra smirked. "Fine, then. We just got our freedom, and I'll be damned if it's taken away from us again."
"Your version of freedom is a lie," Jellal declared as he held up a hand, signaling for his two comrades to hold their position, much to their surprise.
"Jellal, wait!" Urtear said sharply. "You're not really planning on fighting them all alone, are you?"
"This is my debt to repay," he answered solemnly. "I won't have you and Meredy fighting a battle that isn't yours."
"Stupid move!" Racer shouted, already appearing in front of Jellal at lightning speed. "You move so slow, I was already getting bored!"
Blam!
The speedy wizard was smashed into the ground faster than the gathered wizards' eyes could track. One second, he had been about to slug Jellal in the face, the next he was groaning in a smoking crater in the ground. It didn't take Cobra long to figure out what happened, though. His ears pricked again at the sound of footsteps on gravel, and he turned to look up at a familiar face amid a raging aura of gold.
"You," he growled.
"Me," Son Gorun agreed. "How's about we make this easier on everyone? Let me take you back to your cells, and no one here has to get hurt." Noticing Racer getting slowly to his feet, he added, "That was your one warning shot, by the way. Don't make me hurt an old friend of Kinana's."
"Leave Cubellios out of this!" Cobra shouted angrily. "You've got the girl, so what are you here for?!"
"Same reason as him," Gorun shrugged as he gestured to Jellal, who had yet to move from the spot where Racer had tried to attack him. "Repaying a debt. Doranbolt asked me to handle you guys, so I will. Fortunately for you, I don't believe in killing people if I can avoid it, but I do have to ask; what's the healthcare like in prison?"
"Poison Dragon ROAR!" A purple-black mist spewed out of Cobra's mouth at Gorun, who vanished from his line of sight before the attack could land.
"Apparently, it's great!" the saiyan hybrid grinned before he kicked Cobra at Jellal, who began to exchange blows with him at a rapid pace, even as Racer joined in on the fight.
Turning to look at the other three members that remained, he asked, "All right, which one of you gutter punks is next?"
"Actually, I'm not looking to fight anybody, oh yeah," Richard said as he smiled and backed away. "I was hoping to go looking for my brother, Wally, is all."
"Are you kidding me?!" Angel shouted at him. "These guys aren't gonna give us any choice in the matter if we get captured again! We have to fight them!"
"Now, now," Midnight said in a peaceable tone. "Hoteye has the right to do what he wishes with his new freedom. If he does not wish to take up arms, then we have no right to tell him otherwise." Turning back to Gorun, he added, "I, on the other hand, will not be so agreeable."
"Don't remember your compliance as being… a factor…" the boy muttered distractedly as he peered closely at Angel. "Wait a sec… Are you- Whoa!" His exclamation was brought out when he felt a disturbance in the air that he ducked under, which likely saved his life. The rocks behind him were cut more cleanly than any blade could have ever made, and only a faint brushing of the wind told him that some invisible force had passed him by.
"Hey, I was in the middle of talking!" he growled at Midnight, who shrugged indifferently.
"Don't remember caring," he replied.
"Oh, look at me, I'm Midnight," Gorun shot back sardonically. "My name sounds like a stripper's, and I can parrot back insults three seconds after I've heard 'em!" This befuddled the young man, while Angel started giggling. Hearing this, the saiyan boy added, "Yours' isn't any better!"
Off to the side, his sensitive ears picked up on Meredy saying, "Is it just me, or does Gorun seem cranky today?"
"Oh no, Meredy, I've got nothing to complain about!" he shouted loud enough to be heard by the girl, who yelped in surprise. "I'm just here fighting a bunch of murderers- one of whom seems to have a thing for my fiancée- while the rest of Fairy Tail gets ready to go up against a guild full of demons, when I should be celebrating my engagement with my guild mates! Nothing wrong here!"
"Then stop toying with them and get serious already!" Jellal grunted as he countered a blow from Racer while kicking Cobra in the head to stun him. "Why are you holding back?!"
"I could ask you the same thing!" Gorun shouted back as he began to charge a Kamehameha, which immediately set Midnight on edge as he felt the sheer power building up in front of him. "Where's that Heavenly Body Magic I saw the last time we teamed up?!"
"I asked first," Jellal grinned as he leaped to be back-to-back with his friend. "What's your reason?"
"Her," Gorun answered as he jerked his chin at Angel. "There's something familiar about her… Something I need to ask her about."
"Sorano?" Jellal inquired. "What about her?"
"I'll let you know as soon as I figure it out myself!" Gorun answered as he fired the etherion blast at Midnight, who simply redirected it around his head. "Just keep everyone else off of me until I get some answers!" With that, he unleashed his second Saiyan Soul spell before shooting towards Angel faster than the eye can follow. "Time for a chat!" he shouted above her yelp of surprise. Grabbing her by the arm, they shot off toward a gap in the mountain range.
He cleared fifty miles in the time it takes to blink, then stopped abruptly, tossing the scantily-clad woman in the dirt. She was on her feet quickly enough, but before she could use magic against him, he held up a finger and said, "I really wouldn't do that if I were you. Take a look around, and you'll see why."
Keeping her guard up when he made no hostile moves, she did so, realizing that they were standing in a place where some sort of explosion had removed several of the mountains that had once filled the skyline. "What's your point?" she asked him, still wary of any attacks he might use.
"I did this during the Grand Magic Games," Gorun replied as lighting danced across his body amid the golden aura. "And I wasn't nearly as strong then as I am now. So unless you want the same treatment as these rocks, you're gonna answer my questions, and you're gonna do it without any backtalk."
"Nice try," Angel grinned mischievously. "You already said you don't kill people unless you absolutely have to."
"True," the young man nodded. "However, I can send you back to prison looking a lot less pretty than you do now."
"Aw, you think I'm pretty?" she said in a mock-sweet tone. "How about you and I get-"
"For the love all things good in the multiverse, don't finish that sentence," Gorun said quickly. "Just… Answer a few questions, and then we can get back to fighting each other, okay?"
"Counteroffer," Angel said as she clicked her fingers, summoning a swarm of white puffballs armed with razor-sharp teeth that seemed to be eyeing him hungrily. "I have my messenger angels gobble you up while I go on my merry way." With a flippant wave of her hand, she swarmed the boy with her creatures, then turned on her heel to start walking back toward the others.
"Hey!" Gorun shouted from within the maelstrom of white. "I'm not done with you!"
"Be quiet, little boy," she said over her shoulder. "Angels don't concern themselves with the likes of you, except to smite you where you stand."
His response stopped her in place as she felt a strange shift in his magic power; becoming less tangible, though he was still giving off an intense vibe from within the cloud of creatures that she called angels. "What is an angel to a god?" he demanded as she then felt his energy completely vanish.
She smiled as she turned back to face the sight of her minions gobbling up her attacker. "What is a 'god' to a nonbeliever?" she countered smugly.
There was an explosion of scarlet flame that obliterated every single one of her angels from existence. Angel fell back on her seat as she gazed in terror upon Gorun, who had undergone a magnificent change, to say the least. Crimson eyes stared down at her from underneath matching hair, a flaming aura engulfing his slim body. She couldn't sense his magic, which she had originally assumed meant that her angels were devouring him, but now recognized it as a transformation into something beyond anything she would have believed existed.
She opened her mouth to speak, but then found herself in a crater in the side of a mountain, Gorun's hand gripping her neck, her entire body in loads of pain, and not entirely certain of how she had gotten there. Speaking a lot more calmly than before, Gorun asked her, "Do you believe now?"
"Y-Yes?" she croaked as he released her throat and helped her sit down.
"Good," he said with a charming smile. "Then perhaps now we can have a proper talk. Let's start by giving one another our names, like civilized people. I'll go first- my name is Son Gorun, a Fairy Tail wizard who also happens to be one of the Ten Wizard Saints. And you are?"
"My name is… Angel," she said in a trembling voice. "Of the Oracion Seis."
Gorun tsked and shook his head with a sigh. "I know your wizard name already," he told her. "I want your birth name."
"Why?" she demanded, though she was careful not to be so haughty about it. The way he was now, there was no telling what this Gorun character was capable of.
"You remind me of somebody I know," he answered nicely enough. "A good friend of mine, actually. I wanted to see if you two are somehow related."
"Fat chance of that," Angel snorted as she looked down. "My family was killed the day that I was taken to the Tower of Heaven."
"Maybe not," Gorun argued. "Tell me your real name, and then I'll know for certain."
She glared up at him for a silent moment before muttering in a quiet voice, "Sorano."
"Sorano?" he repeated.
"Yes, Sorano Agria," she growled. "What of it?"
"Agria," he grinned brightly, setting her on edge. "Now who would've guessed…?"
"Why does my name matter?!" she demanded again. "I left it behind, along with a life that fades like an echo. I barely remember it anymore."
"Well that's a real shame, because I have a friend named Yukino Agria who would be very disappointed to hear that," he said, freezing her in place.
"Y-Yuki?" she whispered, looking back up at him with wide eyes. "Sh-She…"
"I'll be assuming that you're the older sister that she's mentioned," Gorun told her. "I suppose I should've put things together a lot sooner than I did. White hair, same colored eyes, both of you practice celestial magic…"
"W-Wait, Yuki is a celestial wizard, too?!" she exclaimed.
"Her and Lucy Heartfelia are pretty much the only ones around these days," Gorun nodded. "She's really talented- got three golden zodiac keys to go with Lucy's ten, so altogether, Fairy Tail has the complete zodiac team in its ranks."
"Ugh, she joined the same guild as you and that bimbo?" Angel scoffed. "Wonderful."
"Well, she's happy," Gorun shrugged. "She's a part of my team along with a kid named Romeo, and my fiancée, Kinana- though you probably knew her as 'Cubellios'."
"Wait, that snake that Cobra was always saying used to be a girl?" she asked him in disbelief. "He was right about that? Actually, no, forget that, why did Yukino join up with you?"
"Why don't you ask her in person?" Gorun offered, completely bewildering Angel.
It surprised her so much that it took her a solid minute to manage a response. "Sorry, what?" she asked him. "Weren't you all hell-bent on putting me back in prison just a few minutes ago?"
"Under normal circumstances, I still would be," Gorun nodded, his fiery aura finally dying down, though he did retain the red eyes and hair. "But as it so happens, you and your pals formerly of the Baram Alliance might just have something that my guild needs. In exchange for some information, I will let you see your sister again. Should you agree to this, I will add an additional offer that I think you'll find very attractive- at least, when compared to going back in your cell, as you now realize I can make you do very easily."
Angel flinched, but kept her eyes on him as she said, "What do you want to know?"
"Tartaros is after something called 'Face'," Gorun answered. "We know that they're killing former council members right now, and I want to know if that has anything to do with it, or if it's just another part of their scheme. Also, if possible, I would like to know about 'Face' itself."
Angel was already shaking her head in the negative, though. "Brain was the one who knew about secret weapons and all that," she told him. "Maybe he knew something about this 'Face' thing, but I don't have even a hint of what it can do, or why Tartaros would be killing the council other than to sow confusion and despair among the people of Fiore."
"Damn," Gorun scowled, causing the woman to flinch, but he made no hostile moves against her. "Would Cobra know more about it?"
"If he did, he would have used that as part of his bargaining chip to get us out of jail," Angel said sullenly. "Which I guess is a moot point now."
"Only if you keep up that attitude," Gorun snorted as he stood up and stretched out a hand to the woman, only for her to eye him warily. "Come on, don't look at me like that. I won't hurt you."
"The crater behind me, plus the bruises on my back and neck would beg to differ," she said dryly.
"Okay, I won't hurt you again if you don't attack me, or try to run away," he amended. "Come on, now."
Slowly, gingerly, she allowed him to help her to her feet, wincing as her wounds protested in agony. "You sure know how to show a lady a good time," she grunted.
"Sorry about that," he apologized. "I guess I got a little carried away." Once she was able to stand on her own, he added, "Well, you didn't know what I wanted to learn, but you did answer according to the best of your ability. So I'll take you to see Yukino- provided you agree to another trade."
"What now?" she asked him, even more wary than before. Then, a thought struck her and she shook her head as she said, "You know what? It doesn't matter. I don't want to see her."
"You don't?" he asked, surprised. "That's not how it seemed a second a-"
"I don't want to see her!" Angel said with more force than she had meant to. When Gorun raised an eyebrow, she forced herself to calm down and added, "I don't want her to see me… not like this. I know that I've done a lot of horrible things, and if she's as happy and wonderful as you say she is… I don't want her to see me as I've become. I'd rather stay dead to her, so that she remembers us as children, when I would have given anything to protect her…"
"So you wouldn't do the same for her now?"
Gorun's question caused her to stiffen before she asked, "What are you talking about?"
"Well, our guild is about to go to war with Tartaros, and I would bet my entire life savings on the odds that it is gonna be a rough ride," Gorun answered, his red eyes appearing troubled. "She'll be in a lot of danger, whether I'm there to help her or not."
Angel hesitated, unsure of how to respond. She wanted to stand on her dignity and not give in to the bait she suspected he was getting at, but long-suppressed feelings and memories were rushing back to the forefront of her mind. "What do you want?" she finally asked.
"I want you to come to Fairy Tail with me," Gorun told her. This immediately led to her shaking her head in the negative, so he said quickly, "I'm not done yet. If you help us defeat Tartaros, I'll grant you my protection as a Wizard Saint. With the magic council annihilated, and the Wizard Saints acting in their place, that could well translate to full clemency, not just a jailbreak." He paused to let that sink in before adding, "You could go anywhere, be anything you want. I'll only hold you to working for me so long as Tartaros remains a threat. Once that's done, you're a free woman. What's more, you can hold your head up with some pride, knowing that in spite of all the things you've done, you helped save your little sister from the claws of Tartaros."
"You really are a part of that stupid group, aren't you?" she scowled. "Always trying to show mercy to people that would kill you but were fortunes reversed."
"Actually, this is kind of new on my part," Gorun said with a thin smile. "I'm just… growing more of an appreciation for familial ties, is all. Thought I'd give you the same opportunity."
"And what about the rest of the Seis?" Angel asked. "What're you gonna do with them?"
"Well, if Jellal doesn't kill 'em, that means that he's probably got other plans," Gorun shrugged. "He never said that he wanted to kill you lot, and neither of us are obliged to do so. We only told Doranbolt that we'd 'take care' of you. That leaves for some wiggle room in terms of what I have to do in order to fulfil my oath."
"If Jellal doesn't kill my comrades, then… I'll join you in your fight against Tartaros," she finally said at length. "But make no mistake- if Yuki is in unnecessary danger, my priority will be to protect her, no one else."
"I can accept that," Gorun smirked. Reaching out with his hand again, he said, "Now grab on. I can sense that Jellal's about to drop some real hurt on your friends, and I'd rather not risk the chance that they made him do something hasty."
Begin Soundtrack: Blue Rose Sword (by Yuki Kajiura)
"True Heavenly Body Magic!" Jellal cried as blood trickled down from beneath his eyelids. Midnight had attempted to kill him with illusion magic, which had forced him to rake his own eyeballs in order to combat the assault on his optical sense. Now he was aiming to take his revenge on the three men standing against him. The remaining members of the dark guild all recoiled in despair as they saw a massive light gathering above the clouds. "SEMA!"
A meteor bore down from the reaches of the sky, aimed to smite Cobra and his friends where they stood. The dragon slayer could hear it coming- the sound of their deaths thundering above them, and knowing that no spell that he or any of the others could cast would allow them to survive it. He shut his remaining eye and waited for the end to come, wishing that he had been able to see Cubellios once more.
So it was that he missed seeing when Gorun appeared, took Angel's hand off his shoulder, and shot into the sky to smash into the meteor with incredible force, causing the air above them to erupt with fire and rock, which began to shower down on them, stinging- but not killing- them.
"Huh?" he muttered as he opened his eyes, trying to make sense of what his ears were telling him. One second death had been upon them, and the next, Jellal's attack was nothing but pebbles and embers. Looking over at the blue-haired man, he could see that he was frowning, which mean that he hadn't intended for the spell to detonate prematurely. "What in the…?"
"Hi." The men all snapped their gaze over to see Gorun standing beside Hoteye, who looked just as startled by his sudden appearance as the rest of them. Not to mention something about those red eyes and hair gave Cobra a sense of foreboding…
"Back for more?" he asked, poison wafting off his arms as he raised his fists. Strange appearance or not, he realized that he couldn't feel any magic power coming off of the kid. Now's our chance to get away, he realized. This kid can't possibly-
"Erik, don't," Angel called from behind Hoteye, stepping out from behind the large man, looking as though a hellhound had used her as a ragdoll. "It's no good fighting him. He's beyond any of our skills."
"Whatever skills he's got, it doesn't matter," Cobra grinned as he wriggled his ears. "He's out of power, and I know every move before he makes it."
"That doesn't matter if you can't block," Gorun said with a dangerous look in his eye, a fiery aura bursting to life around him, though Cobra still couldn't feel any magic coming from his enemy. "Last chance to surrender to Jellal before I start playing without kid gloves."
The fact that he was somehow exuding energy without the other wizards being able to sense it was unsettling enough that they almost gave up then and there. Then Cobra tightened his fists and shouted, "Death before imprisonment!"
"Fine," Gorun shrugged, holding up a hand to forestall anything that Angel had to say. "But don't say I didn't warn you." There was a flicker of motion, and then Gorun was standing right back where he had started, albeit with some dust kicked up around him.
"Wha… Urgh…" Cobra groaned as he collapsed in the dirt, followed swiftly by the other two men that had been standing with him, his legs feeling like jelly, and the rest of his body, a mass of bruises.
"That's better," Gorun said, satisfied. Turning to Hoteye, who was looking decidedly nervous, he asked, "You're not really a bad guy anymore, are you?"
"N-No sir," the man stammered, clearly in awe of his overwhelming power, despite his inability to sense it. "I'm j-just a man that wants to find his brother, oh yeah."
"Ah, well, I'll leave that to Jellal," the young man shrugged as he released his divine ki, his hair returning to its usual shade of black, and his muscles filling out his gi again. "Speaking of… Hey, pal! You doing okay?"
"Battered and bruised, plus I can't see," his friend answered as Meredy and Urtear moved to help him sit down. "How about you? Did you undo my spell?"
"Yeah, but I beat everybody else into the ground, so you guys can do whatever you want with 'em," Gorun answered as he walked toward Jellal, his foot just so happening to catch on Cobra's head as he walked by. Over his shoulder, he told Angel, "Don't go anywhere!"
"I know that!" she grumbled.
Reaching into his pocket once he reached his friends, Gorun said, "Here, eat this."
"What is it?" Jellal asked as Urtear took the item from the Saiyan boy, a new look of respect in her eyes regarding him.
"It's good for you, eat it," Gorun insisted.
"Come on, I'm sure it'll help somehow," Urtear said as she put a senzu bean against Jellal's mouth, prompting him to open up and eat it.
No sooner than he had than did Gorun tell him, "Open your eyes."
"I can't, they're… Wait." Jellal's eyes slowly crept up, then blinked a few times as he realized that they didn't hurt anymore. "What was that?" he asked, amazed. It wasn't just his eyes- every wound on his body was gone, and he felt the full measure of his magic power flowing through him now, whereas moments before he had been nearly out of it.
"Senzu bean," Gorun answered. "They heal all wounds, restore your magic power and stamina, plus you won't need to eat for the next ten days. I don't have many left, so don't expect another one from me again. Consider that as my apology for leaving you to deal with them alone."
"It wasn't a big problem," Jellal grinned wryly.
"The hell it wasn't!" Urtear scolded him. "Poor Meredy and I thought that you had been vaporized!"
"But I wasn't," he said gently. "Now then, let's give our adversaries a chance to recover, now that they're beaten down. I have a proposition for them."
"You too, huh?" Gorun asked as he sat next to the man. "Sorry if this throws a wrench in your plans, but Angel and I already struck a deal. She's coming with me."
"Very well," Jellal sighed. "I imagine you have your reasons."
"I do."
"Then before you go, I hope you don't mind telling me what kind of magic you were wielding just a moment ago," the blue-haired man said. "I couldn't feel your magic, but I did feel a strange pressure in the air, something I've never felt before."
"It's my newest transformation," Gorun answered. "My cousin and I both unlocked it in our fight with the phoenix, and it's called 'Super Saiyan god'. Unlike my other takeover spells, this one does not simply amplify my strength- it changes the nature of it from that of a mortal to that of the divine."
"It was crazy, Jellal!" Meredy said excitedly. "He was so fast, you couldn't even see him move! I don't think it was even that hard for him to flatten your mega-spell, either!" If she noticed the dejected look that her leader gave her, she ignored it.
"To be fair, I actually had to cast a pretty hefty Kamehameha in order to stop it," Gorun corrected her. "I just did it so fast that your eyes couldn't track the move. Jellal's spells are no joke. After all, he used to be a Wizard Saint, like me."
"You mentioned that earlier," Urtear remarked. "Congratulations are in order."
"Thanks, but I only got the position because another guy ditched Fiore, and the council got blasted," he replied. "Honestly, I'd just as soon hand the position over to Jellal, but I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon."
"Nor do I," the other man laughed. Then, gesturing toward Angel, he said, "Good luck with her, and in your fight against Tartaros."
"You won't join us?" Gorun asked, feeling a little disappointed. "We could definitely use you in the fight that I have no doubt is coming our way."
"Normally I would, given the circumstances, but I would rather not go anywhere with this bunch until I've made my offer to them," Jellal replied. "I was responsible for much of their suffering and years spent in the dark… I need to offer them a path back into the light, for their sakes as much as my own."
"You really need to stop blaming yourself for that," Urtear admonished with a look of pain in her eyes. "It was my fault, really."
"You may have been the puppet master, but only because I handed you the strings," Jellal countered. "Let's not renew this argument, Urtear. We have more important things to worry about, and Gorun needs to get back to Fairy Tail." Giving his friend a shooing motion, he said, "Go on. We'll meet again soon, I'm sure of it."
"All right," Gorun said as he rose to his feet. "Take care of each other."
"Bye!" Meredy chirped.
"Be well," Urtear said by way of farewell.
"Until the next one," Jellal added with a smile.
Azura: Isn't it about time that you stopped looking like death?
Mataras: Bite me- not like I planned to get the flu for Christmas.
Gorun: You know, you could've always delayed the release date a little bit, you know? I'm sure everyone would have understood.
Mataras: Maybe, but if I'm capable of doing the release on the day of, then I'm obliged to do so. Even so, I'm gonna ask that we keep this session brief, as I really need to get back to sleep.
Gorun: All right, if you're sure.
Azura: First off, Mataras and Kaidon wish all of you a merry Christmas.
Gorun: And Azura hopes that you'll go check out our first OVA in Saiyan Tail Specials.
Mataras: Play nice, munchkins.
Saiki: Next time on Saiyan Tail, New Year's Day, 2020- War On All Fronts
Gorun: Where have you been?!
Mataras: Trying to avoid me, but I reminded him of why that's a bad idea.
Saiki: I will get you back for this, I promise.
Azura: Mataras sends his apologies in advance for the lack of wizard profile or Time Patrol Special, but he's simply not feeling up to it this time.
Next time on Saiyan Tail...
Gorun gazed up at a monstrous floating cube the size of Crocus as it obscured the sky high above the town. It looked like it was made of some kind of a mix of blue crystal and solid rock, though what kept it flying, the young man could not discern. He blinked in surprise as he tried to sense for the power levels of the people that would undoubtedly be piloting the fortress, but much to his bewilderment, he was unable to do so.
Must be bane particles, he thought as he glared up at the flying fortress. Based on Happy's descriptions, he knew that this must be the travelling base of Tartaros, the people responsible for attacking the Magic Council.
He had a very powerful grenade handy, and his first instinct was to throw it at them. However, he stayed his hand when he remembered that they had his friends as hostages, probably somewhere in that floating base of theirs'. He couldn't risk throwing it directly at the place, as it carried the risk of harming Natsu and the girls on accident.
On the other hand, the orb was glowing brighter by the second, which meant it was probably ready to blow any moment. Super Saiyan or not, I don't like the odds of me escaping unscathed if this thing blows up in my hand, he thought as his mind raced through what few options he did have.
"Ah, screw it," he groaned as he drew his arm back as hard as he could before whipping it forward, throwing the orb skyward.
BOOM!