Zrocker119: Guess who's back everybody. I apologize for the long wait, but I just really needed to take a break from my computer. But my creative juices are fully charged and flowing past max capacity so be prepared for chapters for several of my story's to start coming out.
Well that's enough talk for now. Let's get on with reason why your here.
A Hollow's Fairy Tail
-Start-
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"Hurry up," shouted a random Phantom member as he waved his fellow guildmates on. "We've got to get to the mas-"
The wall directly to his left exploded, which in turn rocketed him across the room, where he smacked face first into the opposing wall and rendered him unconscious. The remaining members that were present looked to the newly made opening.
"Out of my way!" Was all they were able to hear before a white blur tore through them all before they could even understand what had happened.
In the midst of all the disabled Phantoms stood Mirajane, who took a moment to catch her breath. It had been about ten minutes since she had stormed the base alongside the others. But after their initial breach she had quickly run ahead of Natsu and Gray, leaving only a trail of unconscious bodies for them to follow.
Mira had yet to activate her Take-Over as no one she had come across was able to withstand a single strike in her base state. Bringing her hands up she observed them in wonder before clenching them into fists.
Feeling a tremor rip through the building Mira glanced upwards, knowing that the shaking was due to Ryu's battle with Jose. The gut retching feeling of dread from before had returned in full force, becoming an almost unbearable weight in her stomach. Ryu had always told her that her instincts would never betray her and to listen to them. Well right now her instincts were screaming that something horrible was going to happen and it would happen soon.
Bending her knees so that she was in a crouch position, Mira flung herself at the ceiling, fist drawn back. With a single strike Mirajane tore through floor after floor, plowing through concrete like it was little more than paper.
'I won't let Ryu fight alone,' she told herself as she blasted through another floor. As she came closer to the top the tremors grew stronger and stronger along with the air getting heavier. They reached the point that Mira was forced to activate her Satan Soul in order to keep up her current momentum.
As she breached through the next floor though, she was caught off guard by something impacting her stomach. The force of which was strong enough to completely shift her momentum and send her crashing through one of the nearby walls.
With an audible groan Mira pushed the rubble off of her person and stood up, only to immediately grasp her stomach, doubling over in pain. Moving her hands aside she saw that an enormous bruise was already starting to form. 'W-what!?
"Ah, I see that you've somehow managed to survive my first attack."
Glancing up, albeit somewhat painfully, Mira was able to see that her ambusher had been Aria.
"H-how are you standing!?" Mirajane very clearly remembered the crippled state that her boyfriend had left the Phantom mage in, and to her knowledge there was no magic in the world that could stabilize, let alone return him to the peak condition that he appeared to be in.
"How I am healthy once more is of little concern to you," Mira dove to the side as a current of air shot from his palm. Ignoring the pain the Take Over mage flew at him and threw a punch only for him to catch her fist.
Pulling on her arm Aria threw her over his shoulder, firing another blast of compressed air after her. Extending her wings Mira was able to maneuver around the blast, noticing how it turned the wall that she would've hit into nothing but a pile of dust.
Gritting her teeth Mirajane calmed herself down and tried to get a read on him. There was no way that the Phantom mage was this powerful a few hours ago. Keeping at a distance Mira utilized her agility to avoid his attacks, all the while observing him, trying to discern the source of his new found power.
"Keeping at a distance will do you no good," the Fairy's eyes widened when her opponent suddenly disappeared. Before she could react he reappeared right before her, his hands outstretched and a magic seal at the ready.
"Zetsu."
The last thing Mirajane saw was glow of a magic seal before her vision was encompassed in an explosion.
A couple floors down the two other members of Fairy Tail felt the tremors as well.
"Sounds like Mira and Ryu are really going at it," shouted Natsu while punching out some Phantom Lord grunt. "Think they'll be alright without us?"
"Are you kidding me right now?" Gray said, freezing an entire group of grunts before shooting his friend/rival an incredulous look. "It's those two that we're talking about. I'm more afraid that they'll forget we're here and bring this place down right on top of us."
Natsu hummed in agreement, roasting another group of enemies with a stream of fire from his mouth. "Then we better get up top before that happens."
With a game plan now in mind the two made short work of the remaining cannon fodder before continuing on through the next hallway. Busting down the doors at the end of the room the fire and ice duo skidded to a halt when they noticed who stood in their way.
"Gajeel," Natsu's eye taking on a dangerous gleam as he stared down his fellow Dragonslayer. None at Fairy Tail had forgotten that he was the one responsible for Elfman's and the others' conditions, and he was itching for some payback.
Gray meanwhile eyed up the blue haired woman that stood beside the Dragonslayer. He had never seen her before, she hadn't been there when they had assaulted Phantom Lord earlier that day and knew nothing about her capabilities. With that in mind Gray threw his shirt aside, not that he realized it, and dropped into his Ice Make stance.
On the other side of the room Juvia prepared herself for the upcoming fight, but saw out of the corner of her vision that Gajeel had yet to move. The Iron Dragonslayer just stood firm and unmoving with his eyes closed.
Just when she was about to ask if something was the matter, her ally suddenly released a long sigh and held up his arm in front of her.
"We surrender."
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Three sets of eyes stared at the man like he had lost his mind.
"G-Gajeel!?" The man in question glanced over at the water mage seeing nothing but confusion and a small amount of betrayal in her eyes. "Is this the plan you spoke about!?"
The slayer could only nod.
"What the hell did you just say?" Natsu's voice was quiet but carried a dangerous tone.
"I said that we surrender," repeated Gajeel. "We give up, we're done fighting, laying down our arms. There aren't many other ways I can say it."
The Fire Dragonslayer stormed across the room, walking right up to Gajeel and grabbing him by his shirt. He got no resistance from the Phantom mage.
"Is this a damn joke to you!?" When Gajeel didn't offer a response Natsu snapped, punching him in the stomach with a flame encased fist. Even though he fell to his knees, clenching his now aching stomach, Gajeel still did nothing in retaliation.
"Do you really think it would be that easy!?" Fire escaping from his mouth, Natsu hauled the larger man up by the shirt and held him off the ground. "After what you did to our guild, our family...did you really think we wouldn't get payback!"
Despite feeling betrayed by the Ace of her guild, Juvia prepared to use one of her spells to free her partner when a Gajeel raised his hand, stopping her before she could even start to form the spell.
"Why?" Gray now stood beside Natsu, glaring daggers at the man that was responsible for much of the guilds misery.
"...Cause I didn't sign up to be a murderer." The two stared at Gajeel in shock, Natsu actually letting the man go. Fixing his shirt, Gajeel stood up before continuing, "I'm all for a little competition between guilds...but the master has taken in to far. You think he'll stop once we get blondie back? This isn't about completing a job and collecting the pay. Not anymore."
"Jose has gone off the deep end." Gajeel turned to Juvia, "You've seen it right? That look he had in his eye when he sent us to retrieve Heartfilia."
Juvia closed her eyes, thought for a moment and sighed. "Juvia knows what Gajeel is talking about."
"He doesn't care about the rules anymore," Gajeel went on, "He won't stop until the two of you, Sato, the Strauss's, your master and everyone else that is a part of your guild is ground into dust."
"There's no way he could get away with that!" Gray argued. "The council-"
"Jose thinks that he now has the power to defeat the council," Gajeel explained. "Shortly after you lot attacked our guildhall a man appeared before us. Don't bother with asking who he was and what he looked like. He never gave his name and wore a heavy cloak and mask. He gave the master two crystals, saying that they would return Aria to fighting condition along with increasing his power."
"Now master hasn't used his yet, but he did use one on Aria...and it changed him." Gajeel shuddered as the memory of the Air mage's body contorting as the unknown crystal repaired his mangled form and flooded his body with ethernano. "His magic power skyrocketed, but he no longer acts like himself and is much more ruthless. Maybe your stronger members could take him if they worked together, but if the master were to use the other one on himself."
"We would need the master to take him on," Gray finished as he took it all in. "But Ryu has to be fighting him by now right?" As if on cue the entire base shook from the aftershocks of battle. "We've got to go help him before Jose gets a chance to use that crystal. Let's go Natsu!"
The fire mage spared the two Phantoms only last glance before following after his comrade, leaving the two to their own devices.
"What do we do now Gajeel?"
The Iron Dragonslayer sighed before he began to walk away. "The Abyss break is still charging up. We're powering it so we need to leave the area so...we can at least give them enough time to defeat Aria and stop the spell completely."
Stepping in line beside him Juvia asked the one question that was on both of their minds. "What do we do after that?"
"We hope that they can defeat that crazed bastard."
A cry of pain escaped from Mirajane's lips as she crashed into a wall. Her form was beaten and battered, covered in a multitude of cuts and littered with bruises. Pulling herself from the wall, the whitette stood, albeit on shaky legs.
She glared hatefully at the man that stood across from her, hardly any damage done to his clothes let alone the man himself. After barely surviving his Zetsu spell, Mirajane had been on the ropes, having no room to counter attack. It was like fighting Ryu for the first time only Aria wasn't holding back.
"It's time to end this farce," Mira tensed as Aria brought his hands forward, palms facing each other. "I'm afraid that you will not survive this final attack." The wind picked up, surrounding the man in a small whirlwind, slowing gaining in size and strength. "Farewell, pathetic Fairy!"
"Zer-"
BOOM!
The wall exploded a few feet to Mira's right, showering the Take Over mage with dust and rubble. There was a flash of light and the sound of another explosion. Coughing the elder Strauss gave a powerful swipe of her hand, clearing away all of the smoke.
She blinked in surprise, hardly believing what she was currently seeing. "L-Laxus?"
Standing over the smoking form of Aria with his back to her was indeed the master's grandson. His coat was missing, leaving him with only his purple dress shirt, baggy pants and shoes. Even his iconic headphones were missing.
"Sorry I'm late," Laxus looked back over his shoulder but faced her fully when he saw just how injured she was, "How are you holding up?"
"I'll manage," Mirajane shrugged off his concern and merely patted herself down, knocking off the dust that clung to her. The action caused her to wince a bit but she played it off, "I thought you said that you wouldn't be able to make it?"
If Laxus saw through her bluff he didn't say. He instead undid the top few buttons of his shirt and moved it aside, revealing the rapidly disappearing rune on his chest. "Freed placed an 'enhance speed' rune on me and told me to get moving. I didn't stay to argue with him."
Redoing the buttons of his shirt he glanced back at the unconscious, and still smoking, form of Aria. "How the hell did this guy give you so much trouble? Haven't you been training with your boyfriend?"
"I have no idea." Standing beside him, Mirajane knelt down and looked at the man's body over. Now that she was up close and not being attacked she could see that Aria's skin was much paler than it should've been. "You weren't there, but when we first struck back Ryu all but tore him to pieces. He should've been hospitalized for months, maybe even years, yet they got him up and moving within hours."
Laxus could only grunt in response before pulling Mira back and blasting the man with another bolt of lightning. When the light show died down, Aira was covered in a thick layer of soot. "Well, he isn't getting back up again anytime soon."
Any other day Mirajane would be more than a bit miffed about the unnecessary amount of force that Laxus had just used, but she couldn't bring herself to care and looked up at the ceiling.
Glancing at the lightning mage she gestured upwards, "Think you ca-"
Whatever she was going to say was interrupted by a sudden wave of malice that washed over them. The S-class mages were both forced to their knees as it threatened to crush them, but they were able to hold out, the weight disappearing a few seconds later.
"What the hell was that!?" Laxus roared in confusion and a small amount of fear. That pressure had been unlike anything that the proud mage had felt before.
"It came from above us." Knowing that the sudden pressure had to have something to do with Ryu and Jose's battle, Mira closed her eyes and focused on sensing out his spiritual pressure. Her eyes shot open a moment later, but there was now a panic in her blue orbs.
"I-I can't feel Ryu's energy!" Before Laxus could question her, Mira had already smashed through the ceiling, not stopping until she reached the final floor.
She now stood in a large open room, largest she had seen in this place so far, and looked to have been in a war zone. Craters and holes were scattered about the place and she could even spy a few splashes of blood here and there. But as she looked around, Mira realized that neither Ryu nor Jose were anywhere to be seen.
Just as she was about to call out something crashed through one of the walls, tumbled across the room and slammed into the opposing wall. She caught the sight of red hair before the wall collapsed on top of the person.
"Ryu!" Mira cried, rushing over and started to move the rubble off of him. After throwing several chunks of brick and stone to the side, she had moved enough to find one of his hands. Grabbing a hold of it, Mira pulled with all her might. Her efforts weren't in vain as she succeeded in pulling her lover out from the rubble.
"Fuck," Ryu whispered with a cough, several drops of blood dribbling from the corners of his mouth. Blinking the pain away he noticed Mira hovering above him. "M-Mira! What are you doing here!?"
She was taken aback by the anger in his tone. "I came to help you fight Jose."
"No! You and the others need to leave now!" Ryu ordered, standing up while doing so, allowing Mirajane to see his current state. Both his coat and vest were gone with his shirt hanging on by a thread. His body was covered in bruises and lacerations that were in the process of healing.
His left arm was limp while the right grasped his blade, though it no longer held a fine edge, now horribly chipped in several places.
Mira went to speak but stopped when Ryu's eyes suddenly went wide. Before she could ask what was wrong the red head shoved her to the side, just as a shadowy blade appeared from the floor.
Mirajane stared at the blade in shock. She hadn't even sensed it forming beneath her. The Take Over mage realized that if Ryu hadn't pushed her aside, then she would've been killed just now.
With a burning rage in his eye Ryu slashed the shadow blade to pieces, only for another to form and stab into his shoulder, bypassing his hierro completely and drawing blood. A hand reached out from the floor, grabbed the sword by the handle and pulled it to the side.
Ryu let out a barely muffled grunt of pain as his arm was cut off at the shoulder, the limb falling uselessly to the floor.
"Ryu!" Mira rushed over to his side in a panic, not noticing the blades that formed above the two. The Arrancar did though and suddenly tackled her, shielding Mirajane as the blades descended upon them.
Mira could only blink as she saw Ryu's face hover just a few inches above her own. Feeling something drip onto her stomach, the whitette glanced downwards and her confused expression quickly changed to one of horror.
"A-are you alright?"
Mira ignored Ryu's question, instead choosing to get out from under him to stare at the six or so blades of shadow that were currently impaled through his back.
"Are you alright!?" Ryu asked again but was once more ignored. "Mir-GAH!" He coughed up a mouthful of blood as the blades forced themselves deeper, some now protruding all the way through and out of his stomach.
His cry of pain finally snapped Mira from her horror stricken stupor. "Ryu!" Being as careful as possible, Mira managed to help him lie down on his side. "Try not to move! Y-you've lost so much blood."
"Can't heal," Ryu groaned out, "Blades are in the way. Have to-Gah!" There was a spurt of blood as another blade came from below and impaled him through the leg.
"Ryu!"
"Tch, this scene makes me want to vomit." The floor in front of them darkened as a figure rose from the shadows. The shadow's parted to reveal Jose, but he had undergone some sort of transformation.
His skin was much paler than it had been previously and there was now an aura of darkness that encompassed his entire form. His eyes had changed as well. The sclera had become pitch black and his iris had turned purple which seemed to be radiating with power.
Yet it wasn't the physical changes that caused Mirajane to freeze in fear but the aura he was emitting. The sheer amount of malice was almost enough to make the Take Over mage vomit.
"At least now I'll be able to take care of the two of you at once," Jose spoke as another blade formed, which he grasped in his right hand. "Farewell, Fairy tra-"
A scaled fist interrupted his monologue as Mira, once again in her Satan Soul, punched him in the stomach, her desire to protect Ryu overriding her fear. The Wizard Saint though...he didn't even budge as he calmly raised his unoccupied hand and backhanded her across the face, launching her to the other side of the room where she crashed into the wall at sonic speeds.
"I'm well beyond your realm of comprehension girl," Jose spoke, loathing dripping from each word. "Where Sato may have proven to be a challenge before, you weren't ever considered a threat...though I must commend you for defeating Aria."
A small chuckle came from Mira at that, causing the master of Phantom Lord to raise a brow. "Do you find my words funny girl, or has your mind broken in the midst of fear."
"What makes you think," Mira began with a smirk, "That I was the one to beat that air mage bastard."
Jose's eyes momentary narrowed in confusion before going wide and quickly turning around, but by then it was too late.
The floor beneath him erupted as an absolutely massive bolt of electricity struck from below, bathing the room in a blinding yellow light. The light show went on for several seconds before finally dying down, leaving that entire section of the room in a smoky haze.
Disorientated and ears ringing from her close proximity to the blast zone, Mira slowly made her way over to Ryu. As she approached she saw that the swords that had impaled him had dissipated and now had a growing pool of blood surrounding him, though as she grew closer she noticed that his wounds were slowly healing, though his arm had yet to even start growing back.
A thud was heard to her side and a quick glance revealed that it was only Laxus. "Sorry for the wait," he apologized and bent down to help her with Ryu. "Would have acted sooner but I didn't want to risk him sensing me."
"Do you think you got him?" Mira had Ryu's remaining arm over her shoulder, uncaring about the blood that was getting all over her.
"Wouldn't count on it." The two glanced over at the smoke that still hid the Phantom from view. "Regardless we need to regroup and wait for the old man to-"
A pulse of dark magic crashed into the lightning mage's side, sending him crashing into the nearby wall.
"Laxus!" Mira stepped to the side as another blast came at her from the smoke. Due to her still holding up Ryu though she wasn't able to avoid it completely, the right side of her hip catching the edge of it. The pain that flared up nearly caused her to fall to the floor, but she held strong.
"Did you really think that Makarov's little brat grandson could do anything?" The smoke finally cleared out, revealing Jose floating in the air, completely unharmed by Laxus' surprise attack. "All you've done girl...is earn my ire!"
The air began to shake as the darkness around the wizard saint grew in intensity. Pointing the blade that was still in his grasp at the two, he used the tip as a focal point and charged it with magic power. "Perish!"
The events that followed appeared to happen in slow motion for Mirajane.
A narrow beam of raw magic energy shot from the tip of the blade on a trajectory that would pierce right through the both of them due to their current angle. Though she knew that it would be impossible for both of them to make it out of this alive, Mirajane would try to save at least one of them.
Just as she prepared to throw Ryu out of harm's way, she felt the arms around her shoulders tense and a pair a lips press against her cheek before finding herself getting tossed to the side.
She saw Ryu, blood dripping from his lips, smiling at her as he held his blade in the beams path in a last act of defiance. His final attempt would do him no good. The beam seared his chipped blade in two and pierced his chest.
The force of which was more than enough to knock him off his unsteady feet and send him crashing into the wall. The wall stood for only a moment before it began to crumble, revealing the outside world and the long drop to the water below. It was at that moment that time seemed to resume its normal speed.
"RYU!" Seeing the stone beneath him start to collapse Mira dove toward him, the rough stone tearing at her skin as she slid across it. But she was too late. Just as she was about to get a grasp of his hand, the floor collapsed with Ryu following after it.
"No, nonononono!" Mira cried as she saw his body plummet through the air, her eyes widening in horror as she saw the extent of the damage caused by the beam.
There was a hole, about the size of a fist, and it had punched straight through his heart.
"No," her voice was barely above that of a whisper. Tears quickly began to fall as she saw Ryu's body impact the water, sinking beneath the waves a few seconds later.
"Nononononononono."
She could hear the sounds of combat going on behind her but she couldn't bring herself to move from her current position. Ryu was gone.
She kneeled down as reality set in and pulled herself into a hug. The air grew heavy as her magic power ran rampant, encompassing her in a purple aura that lashed out randomly mimicking the hurricane that was her emotional state.
Mira felt her stomach twist and turn as the pressure within her became too great for her to contain...so she stopped trying to hold it back.
"RYYYUUUUU!"
Her magic energy exploded and the entire town was illuminated by a bright light.
-A few moments earlier-
When Laxus rushed back to the guild to help with the fight, the last thing he ever expected to see was Ryu on the floor, bleeding from what seemed to be a never ending amount of wounds. The younger man was powerful and had seemed almost untouchable.
For him to be reduced to such a state...it just seemed like a bad dream.
Barely conscious, Laxus pulled himself from the wall that Jose had sent him into, just in time to see Ryu get blasted through the chest and blown outside.
"DAMN IT!"
Enveloping his form in a cloak of lightning, Laxus threw himself at the Wizard Saint. Jose sidestepped the sloppy attack, sending a horde of his shades at the younger man with but a gesture.
With anger numbing his sense of fear Laxus charged forward as the shades swarmed him. A few disintegrated on contact with his cloak but more were able to latch on, yet with a couple twists and turns the lightning mage was able to shake them off.
Reaching the target of his rage, Laxus unleashed a flurry of lightning quick punches and kicks, each imbued with his magic and increasing his lethality. He was done playing around. This bastard had just killed a member of his guild, and he would see the score settled with blood.
Jose quirked a brow as the young mage's arms suddenly developed a scale-like pattern and his canines became much more prominent.
Sucking in a large quantity of air, a magic circle formed in front of his mouth, "Lightning Dragon's Roar!"
The Saints eyes widened exponentially as a destructive current of electricity erupted from the mans mouth, destroying everything in its path.
"You're a Dragonslayer!?" Jose roared, raising a barrier to protect himself just as the blast struck. How is it that Makarov's grandson had this kind of magic? If what Gajeel told him was true, then that meant that it could only be taught by a dragon. It made absolutely zero sense for Laxus to have this power!
"Just what other powerful mages was that bastard hiding," The man cursed Makarov's name. It infuriated Jose to no end that the guild that stole his own guilds fame had such capable mages within it.
But it would no longer matter. Not after today at least. Cause once Jose was through with them, the world will only know Fairy Tail as the guild that he crushed out of existence.
But first.
Jose swiped his hand in a fashion that was much like a blade. The orb that surrounded him expanded, destroying the room around him and throwing Laxus back. The no longer secret Dragonslayer dug his feet into the floor, tearing up a small trench as he tried to keep himself anchored.
He was forced to dodge as a shade tried grabbing him from below before destroying it with a lightning infused punch. Raising his clenched fist to the air, Laxus chanted quietly under his breath.
"Resounding through the air, the roar of thunder, plunge from the heavens and reap destruction. Raging Bolt!" Shouting the last part Laxus brought his fist crashing down. In tandem with his actions, a large bolt of lightning broke through the ceiling directly above the dark wizard.
Without taking his eyes off Laxus, Jose raised his palm, firing a blast of dark energy that countered the attack. With his other hand aimed at the lightning mage he fired an identical blast, only for a ball of fire to set it off prematurely.
Jose growled as the smoke cleared to reveal Laxus, with Gray and Natsu flanking either side. "Just how many more of you pests are going to show up?"
Without missing a beat Laxus responded with, "As many as it takes!"
The two Dragonslayers charged forward while Gray hung back, launching a volley of ice lances. With as little effort as possible for him, Jose fended off the Dragonslayers while dodging Gray's ice attacks which he countered with his shades.
Seeing shades returning from outside, Laxus and Natsu enveloped themselves in their respective elements in order to keep the horde off of them. Twisting to avoid being grappled the lightning mage closed the distance between himself and Jose, his fist pulled back.
Jose moved to block the attack with his forearm, but the blonde transformed into a bolt of lightning and maneuvered behind him at the last second.
"Lightning Dragon's Iron Fist!"
The Wizard Saint grit his teeth as the attack met its mark, his body being racked with pain due to the electricity traveling up his spine. Laxus smirked at landing a solid hit, but it immediately vanished as Jose spun on his heel and connected a spinning back fist with his jaw, sending the S-class wizard into a wall.
"Laxus!"
Without turning around Jose caught Natsu's punch. Ignoring the fire that surrounded the limb Jose tightened his grip, lifting the fire mage completely off the ground before slamming him back down.
Spittle and a bit of blood flew from Natsu's mouth, the wind knocked out of him. He was helpless as Jose used him like a hammer, slamming him on the floor around him several more times before throwing him into the wall right next to Laxus.
Slowly walking after the two Dragonslayers, Jose was forced to stop as a wall of Ice formed between him and his targets. Following a trail of ice connected to the wall Jose spied Gray with his right palm touching the floor.
"Useless." With a simple wave of his hand Jose fired beam of dark magic at the ice mage who quickly threw up a shield of ice. The hastily crafted shield held for less than a second before shattering. Gray could do little more than bring his arms up at the last moment before getting shot back, crashing through the wall behind him.
Turning back towards the wall of ice, Jose reared his arm back and shattered it with a single punch. His eyes widened at what he saw on the other side.
Laxus and Natsu had managed to pull themselves from the wall. Both stood with their side to him and cheeks swollen with air.
"Lightning Dragon's/Fire Dragon's!"
Sensing the ludicrous amount of magic that was building up within them Jose reformed his magic barrier from before.
"ROAR!"
The duo's attack left their throats at the same time, fusing into one giant beam of pure destruction that put Laxus' previous roar to shame. The following explosion was so powerful that it could be seen by the others on the shoreline.
Back in the head of the giant, Laxus and Natsu stood on wobbly legs. Both had put every remaining drop of magic that they had left in to that combined attack and were now suffering the effects of magic exhaustion. It was a miracle that they were even standing at this point.
"...Shit!" Laxus cursed when the smoke cleared and revealed Jose to them. The barrier was severely damaged and even shattered in some places, but it had done its job.
"That was close...That was too close!" Jose had to put much more effort into maintaining his barrier, going so far as to use both hands to power the spell to keep it from breaking. It was a close call that he wasn't going to allow to happen again.
Bring his palm forward, Jose began to gather magic when he noticed that the entire structure was shaking. It was at that moment he sensed a large magic signature and that it was right behind him.
With swiftness that wasn't normally found in a man his age, Jose whipped around to see Mirajane on her knees, hugging herself and with tears streaming down her cheeks. But that wasn't why he focused on her. She didn't seem to notice it but the presence that he had detected was her and it was continuing to rise at an alarming rate.
"RYYYUUUUU!"
Like a ruptured damn that failed to hold back a flood, Mira's magic power exploded outwards, bathing everything around her in a blinding light. The wind picked up, forming a whirlwind around the distressed mage.
Jose shielded his face as the wind grew stronger and stronger as the floor around him cracked and shattered from the sheer magic power that the girl was releasing. 'W-what is this power!'
But just as fast as it had appeared, the pressure vanishing as a pulse of power swept throughout the room and beyond. The pulse also had the added effect of dispersing the whirlwind that had surrounded the woman.
Mirajane was still in the same position as before but now sported a Take Over that none of those present recognized.
Mira had grown horns made of long, sky blue scales that extended backwards to a pointed edge with the scales at the base extending to form a pattern on her face. Her ears, though hidden behind her new horns had become pointed, reminiscent of that of fictional elves. She gained a similar scale-like covering on her forearms and hands as well as on her legs. Another feature was the large, sky blue, stocky and seemingly aquatic tail that protrude from her tailbone. The last physical change were the two sky-blue wings that had grown from her back, but rather than feathers or a membrane skin, they appeared to be composed of numerous scales and were inverted.
Her torn and ruined clothes also changed, now replaced by a light and dark blue, striped, one-piece suit with pointed shoulder-pads, revealing her arms and legs, which was open on the front and the back. This left most of her stomach, wide cleavage, and upper back completely exposed.
Another thing to note was that unlike her other Take Over, Mira's hair had remained completely unchanged by the transformation.
"What that hell," Laxus's voice was barely a whisper as he observed Mira from the other side of the room. In the years that she had been in the guild, the lightning mage had never seen this Take Over. Scratch that, Mirajane had never even brought it up!
How did she keep this a secret? The amount of magic that radiated from her surpassed anything that he had felt before! The air around her was literally shimmering from her presence alone and she hadn't even stood up. 'Did Gramps know about this?'
Jose had lowered his arms by this point, now staring at the woman with an analytical glare. The girls power fluctuated sporadically, which in turn made it difficult to gage. But she would be no problem.
Just as he was about to raise his hand Mira finally moved. It was a small gesture, only turning her head slightly, allowing them all to see her face. Her normally beautiful features had been twisted into an ugly sneer and her previously blue orbs were now stark white and burning with hatred.
Though despite all of that her tears still flowed freely.
Emitting what could only be described as a feral growl, Mira leapt at the man with her fist cocked back. The Saint was more than easily able to dodge the poorly telegraphed attack, but as her fist soared passed his head, he watched as a blast of raw, unrefined magic decimate the other half of the room.
Luckily for the others, Laxus had understood what was about to happen and had grabbed hold of his guild mates and used what little magic he had to blitz out of there right as the place erupted. The three appeared back at the shoreline in a bolt of lightning, surprising all those present.
"Laxus," Erza forced her way through to the front of the crowd, kneeling next to them. "When did you get here? You know what, never mind that. What's happening? Where are Ryu and Mira?"
With a heavy sigh Laxus moved into a seated position, "Ryu's gone."
A heavy silence swept through the crowd, all of them staring at the lightning mage in shock. None more so than the redheaded knight.
"W-what?"
"Jose blew a hole the size of my fist through his heart." Laxus grit his teeth as the scene replayed in his mind. "Now Mira's going on a rampage."
"What do you mea-" As if to prove his words true, the head of the giant erupted in an enormous explosion. Two figures flew from the smoke and could be seen clashing in the distance. One of them was sent crashing into the water just before them, staying under for a split second before rocketing back out, allowing them all to see Mira in her new form.
Erza's eyes widened in recognition. "How was she able to access that power?"
Jaxus glanced in her direction, eyes narrowed. "What do you mean by that?"
"That form is known as Halphas. You were on a job at the time but Mira had used it against me in a spar a few years back. After seeing the destruction that she caused, the master had forbidden her from ever using it." A shockwave tore through the area, forcing them to shield their eyes. "If she doesn't get a hold of her emotions, Mira will end up destroying the whole city!"
"Well then, we definitely don't want that to happen."
Despite the battle that was going on just a few hundred meters away, everyone jumped at the new voice that pitched in.
Being the closest to the source, Erza equipped a long sword and swung to her side only for the blade to be stopped dead in its tracks. The requip mage's eyes went wide in horror as she recognized just who she had attacked. "G-Gin!?"
"Hello," the silver-haired Rune Knight said with a cheeky wave, completely disregarding the sword currently being held between his thumb and index finger. Another shockwave swept over them, making Gin glance in the direction of the two battling mages.
"Wow, they're really going at each other." Gin said, holding his hat to keep it from flying off due to the gale force winds.
"What are you even doing here?" questioned Erza. She found it very strange that Gin just happened to be stopping by for a visit just as all of this was going down.
"Got a call from Ryu not that long ago. He explained the situation to me and requested that I show up to help verify your guilds claims of retaliating in self defense. Rushed on over as fast as I could," He was cut off by another gust of wind as the battle raged on. "Damn, I always knew that Mirajane was a powerhouse but this is taking it to a whole other level. Ryu's really gonna have to step up his game if she keeps this rate of improvement going."
Laxus and the others mood took a dive at the mention of the Ryu, on the Gin was able to pick up on.
"What's with all of the long faces?"
"Your name's Gin right?" Laxus had never met the man before now, but Erza and the others clearly knew him. "If you're a friend of Ryu's...then I'm sorry to tell you that he didn't make it. Jose killed him."
The Rune Knight paused momentarily, frowning as he processed the information. Glancing out towards the stone giant he gave a lazy wave. "Nope, he's still alive."
Everyone stared at him in confusion, none more so than Laxus. "What! But I saw-"
Gin raised his hand, silencing Laxus before he can even get warmed up. "Oh, he's hurting. There's no denying that. But trust me when I say that he isn't down for the count just yet."
The silver-haired man returned his gaze to the water and shouted, "Isn't that right, Ryu!?"
There was a moment of complete silence as Gin's question echoed across the water. It lasted only a moment more before it was met with a response.
They had clashed dozens of times by now and Jose was finally able to get a grasp of what was going on. The girl had completely lost all sense of control. There was no coordination, no method to her attacks and bursts of magic.
She was completely blinded by her rage and was just allowing her magic to seize control of her. Armed with this new information, Jose was able to swing the flow of the battle back in his favor. Rather than meet her blow for blow, he dodged or diverted her attacks, making room to land counters of his own.
He was no longer receiving any damage and conserving his power, while the enraged Mirajane was the complete opposite. Her attacks, while fast, were telegraphed and easy to avoid. To top it off with how much wasted energy she put into them meant that she was tiring out very quickly.
Dodging another one of her sloppy punches, Jose maneuvered so that he was now positioned behind her, a magic seal already formed in his hand. Several shades appeared from it, quickly ensnaring the Take Over mage in their grasp.
Mira fought and struggled with all her might but the shades held firm, slowly choking the life out of her. With a strangled cry her magic faded away, reverting her to her base form and ceasing her struggles.
"For a mage of your caliber to be apart of such a pathetic guild infuriates me to no end," Jose spat out as he reached into his pocket and retrieved the crystal that had been given to him by the cloaked stranger. Clenching it tightly the crystal glowed a deep purple as he felt his magic reserves return to full, "To think that accursed Sato forced me to use this and that you would drain me of so much energy."
"But, it's all inconsequential now." Aiming his palm towards her, charging up another magic seal. "I'll eliminate you then proceed do wipe out the rest of your meddlesome guild fa-"
The empowered Wizard Saint stumbled as a heavy pressure swept throughout the area that was accompanied by a giant pillar of white light that surrounded Mirajane. Upon contact with the energy, the shades holding her in place disintegrated. With nothing to support her, Mira plumuted towards the water below but was caught just at the surface.
Exhausted in both body and spirit, Mira was barely able to make out the face of Ryu staring down at her. "R-Ryu?"
A gentle smile found a way to his lips. "Yeah, it's me. Sorry I took so long."
"How?" She had seen him fall. Saw the hole that took up the space his heart should've been in. Mirajane knew that his regenerative abilities were far beyond anything that she had seen before, bet even he couldn't have regrown his heart.
"...I promise that I'll explain everything soon. But first I need to take care of Jose," he said as he walked towards the shore. Ryu was aware of the many eyes that were currently on him. It only made sense. Though his arm had regrown, most of his wounds had yet to fully heal and still bled.
"Elfman!" The man in question pushed his way to the front, the Arrancar easily handed Mira off to him. As he did so, everyone's eyes widened and they all took a step back in shock. Now that he wasn't holding her, Mirajanes body no longer hid the hole in his chest from view.
As they began mumbling to themselves Ryu caught a glance of Gin off the to side. "Gin...don't let anyone else interfere. Restrain them if you have to."
His friend only nodded, but then gestured to Jose who still hovered above them, equally as shocked as the rest of them. "Should I expect to cuff him once this is all over."
"...No." Drawing his horribly chipped and broken Zanpakuto, Ryu slowly rose into the sky until he was at the same height as Jose.
"How!?" Jose spoke through grit teeth as he shook in barely restrained rage. "HOW ARE YOU STILL ALIVE!?"
"You should feel honored." Ignoring the question Ryu raised his blade to the side so that it was even with his shoulders. "It's been over two years since I last used this form so you'll have to forgive me if I'm a little rusty."
The wizard's eyes went wide at his statement. "You're a Take Over mage!?"
"Take Over? No, what I use isn't magic." Ryu was enveloped in a white hue, "This, this is Resurreccion."
"Incinerate."
The sword in his grasp suddenly erupted into white flames before being burned away, handle and all.
"Olvido!"
.
.
.
-End-