Chapter Seventeen:
AN: Another shorter chapter. I'm still not feeling great. You all know about the toxic relationship I escaped earlier this year, and three days ago we lost a member of my family to a seizure. So...yeah...I'm going to be okay, but I'm not okay right now. But I'm trying to keep up with writing because I need something to keep my mind busy and I don't need to shut down mentally and emotionally like I did while I was in the toxic relationship.
Thank you all again for keeping up with and supporting this story. I know it's not as good as some of my other stories, I just haven't been able to put as much into it because of the struggles I've gone through this year, but it's nice to have support regardless. Love you all, and thank you once again.
"So...who hasn't been out there yet?" Farrah asked.
"I haven't!" Cato raised his hand.
"I haven't!" Bianca called.
"Me either," Benedict shrugged.
"Alright," Farrah nodded. "Cato and Benedict, get ready for the battle rounds."
"Hey!" Bianca crossed her arms.
"Sorry, squirt," Farrah shrugged. "You're still a reserve player."
"Can I go?" a soft voice called from behind Farrah. She turned to find Roman standing there.
"I...I'd like a chance to redeem myself."
"Not this round," Farrah shook her head. "Storm may have cleared you for action, but I still want you to take it easy today. Just to be safe."
Roman sighed. "Fine."
Bianca frowned at Roman's downcast face but chose to say nothing.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
"Ah...ah...Makarov!" Jose stuttered, smiling sheepishly. "Fancy meeting you here! I-I hope I haven't-"
Smack!
Makarov reared back and kicked Jose off the cliff, sending him plummeting to the bottom with a loud shout.
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Crash!
Nashi peaked over Makarov's fingers at the poof of dust that formed as Jose hit the bottom of the canyon.
"Nashi," Makarov called again in a soft voice. Nashi turned back around, craning her neck to look up into the face of the late Fairy Tail master. Tears form in her voice, as she ran forward, grabbing onto the giant's shirt.
"Gramps!" she cried, soft sobs shaking her body. She was vaguely aware of her body lowering, and Makarov shrinking. Back in his normal size, Makarov wrapped his arms around her, patting her back as she cried.
"Gramps!" Nashi cried again.
"There, there, I've got you Nashi," he said softly.
"Gramps, I missed you!" Nashi cried.
"I know, I've missed you too," Makarov answered, stroking her hair. "I've missed all of my children."
Makarov let her go, setting a hand on her chin and tilting her face towards him, smiling as he wiped her tears away.
"Look at you! You've grown into a fine little lady, haven't you?"
"Gramps, I-" Nashi tried to speak but found herself still getting choked up.
"Oh, sweet child," Makarov said, wiping at her tears. "These past few days have been terrible for you, haven't they?"
Nashi sniffled as she nodded.
"Yes, I know," Makarov said comfortingly as he pulled her into another hug. "I can only imagine how terrified you must have been. Your parents have been scared too. They've been worried sick about you kids."
"Have you seen them?" Nashi asked.
"Yes."
"Are they okay? Do they know I'm coming?"
"They're alright for now. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to talk to them."
"Why not?" Nashi asked.
"Hm...it'd be easier to just show you," Makarov said. "Come on, let's go."
"No, wait, I-" Nashi wrapped her arms around herself, ducking her head as she began trembling again.
"Nashi, are you okay?" Makarov asked.
"Y-y-yeah," Nashi nodded, still shuddering. "I just-I'm fine. Let's."
"No, no," Makarov set his hand on her head to keep her from standing up. "I think you need some rest, young lady."
Nashi shook her head. "I'm fine."
"Nashi, you've been through a lot these past few days," Makarov said. "And from what I understand you haven't slept at all since you got here."
"So?" Nashi asked.
"So, you've been awake for about 36 hours, on top of all the stress you've been under."
"Oh," Nashi grinned sheepishly. "But, no! No, I'm fine. Besides, our parents have been stuck here for four days now. I have to get them back to the real world as soon as possible. So I can't stop and rest, not until we're all safe."
Makarov chuckled as he ruffled her hair. "You remind me of a certain pink-haired dragon slayer and blond-headed celestial wizard I used to know. A couple of trouble makers those two were, but some of the bravest souls I've known."
"Hm, kinda sound like my parents," Nashi said sarcastically.
"Yeah, you sure are a chip off the old block, aren't ya, kiddo?"
"I guess," Nashi shrugged.
"Alright, I can see your mind's made up. So how about this," Makarov changed back into his giant form, setting Nashi in his palm. "I'll carry you while you rest. That way we can keep moving and you can get some much-needed shut-eye. Sound fair?"
"I guess, but-"
"No buts!" Makarov said as he began walking. "Now get some sleep."
"Fine!" Nashi pouted as she curled up into a ball in Makarov's palm.
As they began to walk off, neither noticed Jose climbing back onto the cliff. He frowned as he watched Nashi sleeping in Makarov's hand, waving his hand as he cast a spell:
"Ghostly Nightmare."
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
"And it looks like today is not Phoenix Grave's day, as Sabertooth wins the first battle round!"
Cato and Benedict exchanged concerned glances. After what happened to Malla earlier there was no telling what punishment the rest of the kids were going to get now that they were ending the day with only one point.
"Next up we have Fairy Tail vs Mermaid Heel!"
"Alright, let's go," Benedict said, patting Cato on the back.
The two boys made their way into the arena.
"Good luck, guys!" Farrah called smiling at her brother and bo-No! Just a friend! Just a friend! Holy smokes, what was wrong with her?
"And for team Fairy Tail we have Cato Dreyar and Benedict Orlando!" Chapati cheered.
"And for team Mermaid Heel we have Arana Webb and Millianna!" Yajima said.
Cato began stretching as the two women joined them at the center of the arena.
"Hi, kittens!" Millianna waved enthusiastically.
"Uh...hi?" Benedict waved back, unsure as the arena began shifting and changing around them. The ground on the Fairy Tail side turned into an icy wasteland. The ground on the Mermaid Heel side turned into a lava field.
"This...looks dangerous…" Cato muttered.
"Hm, just get ready to fly," Benedict replied.
"I'm not sure I like the sound of that…" Cato squeaked.
Back at the dugout Persephone only smirked. "C'mon, Cato, stop acting like a wimp!"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Cato frowned as the countdown began.
"Three, two, one, BEGIN!" Chapati cheered.
Benedict squared his shoulder and called "Sound Magic, Sonic BOOOOOM!"
A burst of sound waves erupted from his mouth. Cato found himself flying through the center of the vortex.
"Yipe! Okay, Memory Make, meteor!" he called, turning into a flash of light. He charged right at Arana, grabbed her shoulders, and began charging towards the lava side. He planned to drop her in the middle of some fire, but before he could reach it he felt his limbs growing tight. He gasped as his arms and legs stuck to his body and he crashed to the hot rock, his body seemingly wound up in what looked like spiderwebs.
"Sonic, BOOOM!" Benedict called again, aiming his attack at Millianna.
"Binding Tube!" Millianna shouted as she dodged Benedict's attack.
A brown fuzzy tube, similar to a cat's tail wrapped around Benedict, tightened and pulled him to the ground.
"Ach!" Benedict cringed as Millianna charged towards him, claws drawn.
"Scratch attack!"
"Ouch!" Benedict cringed as Millianna began scratching at his face. "Get off me!" Benedict yelled as he began kicking his legs. He finally managed to flip himself over, knocking Millianna off him. She bounced off the middle portion of the arena and slid into the icy wasteland.
Meanwhile, Cato managed to squirm out of the spiderwebs just in time to roll out of the way of another attack. He stood to his feet, only to jump out of the way of another attack, and another, and another.
I can't even get a hit in, I'm too busy dodging! Cato thought as he began running at top speed, trying to get out of Arana's sight so he could at least catch his breath. He jumped and ducked behind a rock. He could hear web smacking against the other side, so he knew he didn't have much time.
"Memory Make, Ice Ramp!" he called. A massive slab of ice appeared, ramming into Arana and knocking her onto her back. Cato quickly ran up it before it melted and used it to jump to one of the higher rocks. He then began hopping from rock top to rock top, careful to dodge both the lava spouts and Arana's webs.
"Memory Make, Iron Rain!" Cato shouted as he made one large jump over Arana. Arana jumped back, tripping and stumbling as she tried to get out of Cato's attack. She was only mildly successful, managing to escape with a few scratches rather than full-on slashes.
Cato smirked in victory as he landed back on the ground, and promptly got stuck. He looked down to see a pile of sticky webs stuck to his feet.
"Oh, come o-OW!" Cato cringed as Arana spun, kicked him in the face, sending him flying over a river of lava and crashing to the other side.
"Ugh," Cato cringed as he tried to push himself back on his feet.
As Cato and Arana continued fighting in the fire portion of the arena, Benedict had managed to free himself from Millianna's binding and ran after her into the snowy region.
"Kitten Attack!" he heard from the top of one of the icebergs. This time he managed to jump out of the way in time.
"Sound Magic, Screech!"
A high pitched shriek ripped through the air near Millianna's ears.
"Owie!" Millianna whined as she clutched her ears and fell off the iceberg. "That hurts my itty-bitty ears!"
Benedict ran towards her, but she recovered in time to kick some snow into his face and climb back to the top of one of the icebergs.
"Pfft! Blah!" Benedict sputtered as he wiped at his face. He quickly looked around for Millianna and saw her scampering to the top of another iceberg.
"Hm…" Benedict scratched his chin, smiling evilly as he got an idea. "Sound magic, mimic, kitten!"
From somewhere in the arena came the soft "meowing" of kittens.
"Kitty?" Millianna asked, her ears perking up. "Kitty! Where are the itty-bitty-kitties!"
She began chasing after the noise, and Benedict slipped off to lay his trap.
He wasn't the only one who noticed Millianna's loss of focus though. Arana, back in the fire region, also noticed and cupped her mouth, calling: "Millianna, stay on track! We need to-"
"Memory Make, Smoke!"
Arana began sputtering and coughing as she inhaled smoke. With the enemy blinded, he now had time to make a plan of attack.
Benedict, still laying the groundwork for a screech vortex to trap Millianna, checked over his shoulder to make sure Cato was okay. He seemed alright except...was that a spider?
There was a giant spider that seemed to be materializing out of nowhere. No doubt Arana's doing. Benedict began to shout for Cato to watch out when he noticed something. A green, bubbling liquid that was seeping from the spider's fangs.
Benedict gasped, his blood running cold and his hands trembling. He would recognize that liquid from anywhere. Acid. His father and uncle's acid. But how had Arana gotten a hold of it?
He glanced about, searching for Arana. Why would she…
...she wouldn't. Mermaid Heel and Fairy Tail were friends, and Arana was a laid back kind of person. Nowhere near the type that would permanently scar a twelve-year-old kid. Somehow one of his uncles had learned to hijack another wizard's spell to add their acid to the mix.
Benedict wasn't sure how that was possible, and he didn't have time to figure it out.
He finally spotted Arana, weaving her spider summon from behind a rock. Benedict took off running. The only way to stop the spell and keep Cato safe was to knock Arana out of the round and hope they hadn't hijacked any of Millianna's spells.
Benedict braced himself, this was going to hurt!
He grabbed Arana around the neck and charged right into an erupting geyser.
"What the-!?" Sting shouted from the press box.
"Benedict!" Farrah shrieked from the dugout.
Everyone in the arena gasped.
"Uh...uh...uh…" Chapati stuttered. "And like that, Arana Webb and Benedict Dreyar both go down!"
"Ugh…" Arana groaned as she rolled over.
"Sorry," Benedict cringed, also rolling onto his side and curling into a fetal position. "Someone hijacked your spider to poison Cato...I had to take you out to save him."
"Spider?" Arana stuttered. "I wasn't using a spider!"
"AH!"
Arana and Benedict turned to find Cato ducking out of the path of a massive spider.
Benedict gasped. So they weren't hijacking another wizard's spell, it was just their spell! Which meant his charge into the geyser had done nothing to save Cato.
The spider kept charging after Cato, forcing him to dodge, weave, and run to stay ahead of it.
"I...I don't understand…" Chapati announced. "Shouldn't Arana's speech have disappeared since she was taken out?"
"That's not Arana's spell," Yajima said. "Someone outside the arena must have sent that thing in there to attack Cato!"
"What? But who would-Say, where'd Sting go?" Chapati asked.
Cato finally managed to get enough distance between himself and the spider to perform some magic.
"Memory Make Stone Wall!"
A slab of rock appeared in front of him, separating him from the spider. The spider stopped, stared at the wall, then began shooting jets of acid towards it.
"Yipe!" Cato shouted as a jet of acid cut straight through the wall and shot past him.
"S…" Benedict cringed as he pushed himself upon his hand. "Sound Magic: Screech!"
A cacophony of high pitched noises went off around the spider, causing it to stop in its attacks and tremble in pain.
Benedict closed his eyes and concentrated, trying his hardest to keep the spell going despite his weakened state. He had to last at least long enough for someone to get in here and-
"White dragon ROAR!"
Benedict opened his eyes as a blast of white light shot at the spider and instantly disintegrated it. Sting ran into the arena, ducking behind the wall where Cato had taken shelter.
"You alright, kid?" he asked.
"Yeah, I think so," Cato answered.
"Um…" Chapati murmured from the press box. "So...is that match? Are we calling it a draw?"
"Sounds good to me," Yajima shrugged.
"And it's a draw! So both Fairy Tail and Mermaid Heel will take five points!"
Benedict dropped to the ground, sighing in relief. At least Cato was safe.
The sound of running footsteps came towards him and he opened his eyes to find Farrah and Storm running towards him. Farrah reached him first.
"What were you thinking!?" she screamed as she knelt next to him.
"I was trying to save Cato," Benedict said. "That spider had my father or uncles' acid in its fangs. I thought they hijacked Arana's spell. So I was trying to take her out and end the spell before they hurt Cato."
"No," came a soft voice as Millianna approached them. "I've never seen Arana use a spell like that before."
Benedict hung his head. "Sorry for attacking you th-"
"You were trying to save a friend," Arana chuckled. "I can't fault you there. Besides, it looks like you took the brunt of the geyser."
"I'll say," Storm agreed as his water seeped into Benedict's pores. "Try not to move for me, 'kay?"
Benedict nodded as Storm began to work on healing him.
"I'll get to you in a minute Arana," Storm assured the other injured party.
"Take your time," Arana smiled. "I've had worse."
Benedict winced as the water began washing over his burns. He clenched his hands into fists and gritted his teeth.
"Here," Farrah said softly as she slipped one of her hands into his. Benedict gasped, looking down at their clasped hands.
"Squeeze my hand," Farrah explained.
"O...okay," Benedict replied, wrapping his fingers around her palm. He did as she said, squeezing whenever the cold water touched his burn skin and agitated it. Farrah surprised him yet again when she set her other hand on the back of his, comfortingly stroking it.
"Uh…" Benedict stammered.
"Thank you," Farrah whispered. "For saving my brother."
Benedict smiled as he ran his thumb over Farrah's fingers, causing her to gasp.
"Your welcome," he whispered back.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Nashi sighed in her sleep, still curled up in Makarov's palm. For the first time in a while, she seemed peaceful, slumbering quietly without even a dream.
For a moment at least.
As she continued to snooze a voice suddenly appeared in her head.
"How does it feel? Living a lie?"
Nashi opened her eyes and looked about. She shuddered. She was where she'd begun in this in-between place. In a void. Nothing but a black floor and empty nothingness.
She looked about and saw the man who'd attacked her before Gramps arrived. Jose thought Makarov had called him. He grinned, clasping his hands behind his back as he strode towards her.
"You may have been able to fool all of Fairy Tail, but I know what you really are…"
Nashi conjured up two black, fiery swords and pointed them at the man. He just grinned all the wider as he looked her dead in the eye.
"...a monster."
"You think you're the first person who's called me that?" Nashi asked.
"Oh, no, I know I'm not," Jose chuckled. "I know there have been others who have told you this harsh truth but you haven't believed them."
Nashi continued to frown at him, her swords burning a bit hotter.
Jose cocked his head to one side. "Or do you? Is there perhaps one small part of you that knows they're telling the truth. That knows that I am telling the truth?"
Nashi's eyes widened, her frown slowly melting into a look of horror. She quickly shook her head, growing once more. "No. No, you're wrong about me?"
"Am I?" Jose asked, chuckling menacingly as he took a step closer to Nashi.
"Stay back!" Nashi ordered.
"I already told you I tried to take you from your family. Did they tell you that? Did they tell you that I and two others wanted to take you away when you were born?"
"I…" Nashi's frown dropped once again. No. No one had told her that. Her parents told her six years ago that there had been a prophecy about her and her magic. But not that someone had tried to take her.
Well, there was that Rune Knight guy. He wanted to study her. But that was different. Wasn't it? What was this guy-
"Do you know why we wanted to do that?" Jose asked.
Nashi looked towards him, still frowning, though there was a questioningly look in her gaze.
"To protect them from what you'd become," Jose answered. Raising a hand. "Would you like to see what that is? Would you like to see what you'll become?"
Before Nashi could answer everything around her disappeared. She found herself standing in a burning building.
She gasped. She recognized this building. The guildhall! But why was it on fire? And why-
Nashi screamed as she looked down on the ground. There were her parents, lying at her feet, dead!
And behind them Layla, Igneel, Kyri, and Luna.
And around them everyone else. All her aunts and uncles. All of the other children. Cato, Persephone, Koree, Roman.
And Storm?
Where was Storm?
"Stop!" Nashi whirled around to find Storm on his knees, tugging at the robe of a menacing figure standing over him.
"Stop!" Storm sobbed as he looked up at the figure. "Why are you doing this?"
"Get away from him!" Nashi screamed as she ran towards them, conjuring her swords back into her hands.
"Why?" Storm kept asking as Nashi charged towards them. "Why are you doing this, Nashi?"
Nashi stopped.
No.
That couldn't be right.
The figure held out a hand.
Nashi screamed as she saw one of her Iapetus swords appearing in the figure's palm.
"No, stop, Nashi please, don't!" Storm begged. "Nashi, please, I lov-"
The sword slid through Storm's chest and he fell down dead. The figure turned around and Nashi fell to her knees, holding both hands to her mouth.
It was her.
Her hair was short and more gray than pink.
Her face was free of its rosy cheeks, and her freckles were replaced by sores.
Her eyes were dull rather than sparkling.
But still, it was her.
Nashi began to sob as her, this other version of her, walked towards her and stood over her.
"Do you see what you are now?" this other her asked.
"No…" Nashi shook her head, tears pouring down her face "No, this isn't me! I can't...I won't…"
"But you will," the other hero said. "Because you can't help it. You're a monster."
"No, I'm not!" Nashi screamed, jumping to her feet. "I'm not a monster! I'm not like you!"
"Like me?" the other girl laughed. "But you ARE me!"
"No!" Nashi screamed, closing her eyes.
"Yes," the other her hissed. Nashi opened her eyes again, but the other her was gone. Nashi looked down at herself and screamed. She was now dressed in that other hers robes, and blood, her family's blood, stained her arms and clothes.
"This is what you are…"
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
"NO!" Nashi screeched as she jolted awake, frantically looking around, swinging her arms wildly.
"Nashi?" Makarov exclaimed.
Nashi looked up at him, tears streaming down her face.
"Nashi, what's wrong?" Makarov asked.
Nashi shook her head. "Eos!" she called, her wings appearing and she took off flying.
"Nashi, Nashi, wait!" Makarov called as she sped away.