Chapter Twenty Two:
SMASH!
Glass scattered on the ground as Natsu jumped out a window and began racing back towards the hotel.
"KYRI, LUNA! HANG ON! DADDY'S COMING!"
"Natsu, wait for us!" Gray shouted, racing after him. Juvia, Wendy, Romeo, Lisanna, Bixlow, and Reina going after him.
Laxus and Mirajane started going after him when Farrah grabbed Laxus' arm. "It's not just Elena," Farrah said. "There are close to a dozen criminals out there getting ready to assassinate wizards!"
"WHAT!?" Storm and Persephone gasped.
Laxus stared at Farrah, then back at the parents of the other babies, then back at Farrah.
He felt a hand on his shoulder and saw Erza standing behind him. "Go get July," Erza said. "The rest of us can handle these scum."
Laxus nodded in thanks as he and Mirajane ran off.
"Alright, everyone else, let's move!" Erza called.
"We'll go with you," Persephone said, she and Storm ran to her side.
"No," Erza said. "You kids stay here."
"What!?" Persephone exclaimed. "You expect us to just stay here and do nothing?"
"No, of course not," Erza smiled. "I expect you to keep playing the games." She peeked out the window at the floating scoreboard. "Seems like you've done well so far."
Erza gave the children a bright smile before jumping out the window and racing off to hunt for criminals, the rest of the adults following her.
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Jude sat on a couch, watching the match on a screen. Luna and Kyri were asleep in the bedroom behind him. His focus, however, was mainly on the screen, watching two of his other grandchildren compete. He still hoped his eldest was alright, as well as his daughter and son-in-law. He had no way of knowing if they were okay or not, and that was driving him crazy. All he could do now was support Layla and Igneel from the sidelines.
He was so intent on his task, he didn't notice something tapping at the hotel room door.
KA-BOOM!
Jude gasped as the door flew and hit him in the face. He groaned as he clutched his head. A tall woman with rainbow hair and a sinister smile strode in.
"Who...who are y-AUGH!" Jude slumped back to the floor as Elena kicked him in the head, knocking him out cold. She glanced around her, spotting the bedroom door.
"Ah, there you are," she said as she began walking towards the door.
FWOOM!
Elena jumped back as a fiery whirlpool appeared in front of her. NAshi stumbled out of it, looking very dizzy.
"Oh," Elena rolled her eyes. "This again."
She took a step towards Nashi, only to retract that step when someone else walked out of the portal as it closed.
"Nashi, what are-" Lucy stopped midstep, eyes narrowing as she potted Elena. "You!"
Elena stared back, a look of rage on her face. "You're not supposed to be here!"
A baby cried from behind the bedroom door.
Elena gasped and turned towards the door. Lucy, however, never took her eyes off Elena as she reached for her keys and said: "Nashi, take your sisters and get out of here."
Nashi nodded as she made a break for the bedroom door.
"No, you don't!" Elena shouted as she tried to go after Nashi. She was stopped mid-step by a kick to the face.
Elena crashed into the screen, shattering it before slumping to the ground. She stood up, ready to fight Lucy, but was stopped as a whip wrapped around her arms, pinning them to her body.
Lucy, now dressed in her Taurus Star Dress, pulled the whip tighter around Elena, jerked on the whip, and sent Elena flying out the window. She jumped down after her, changing into her Aries Dress to soften the blow with wool.
Elena simply changed the density of her body and let herself fall through the ground, disappearing inside.
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"Alright, the games are underway," a sinister-looking criminal hissed as he and a group of recently freed jailbirds began making their way into Crocus. He chuckled lowly as he led his group through the streets.
"Oof!" someone at the back of the group felt a sharp blow to the back of his head and collapsed to the street. A red, snake-like string of energy wrapped around him, holding him immobilized. He tried to cry for help, but the bind wrapped over his mouth, silencing him.
"Now, remember men," the leader of the group continued.
"Oof!" another criminal fell and was bound to the ground.
"We've got to keep this quiet," the leader kept talking, oblivious as to what was going on behind him.
"Oof!"
"We don't want to draw any unwanted attention."
"Oof!"
"If the Rune Knights find us we're done for."
"Oof!"
"Say stay on your toes and stay quiet."
"Oof!"
"Any questions?" The ladder finally turned around. Instead of seeing his fellow criminals, though, she found Erza standing behind him, fist pulled back.
"No, that pretty much sums it up," Erza grinned as she punched the leader square in the face. He went cross-eyed and fell to the street.
"Snake Bind," Jellal said from behind his wife, binding the man in place.
"Well, that was easy," Erza smiled.
"Indeed, shall we keep hunting?" Jellal asked in an amused voice.
"Oh, yes, lets."
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Lucy changed to her Virgo form, stomping on the ground causing it to shake and tremble as if an earthquake had struck. She continued walking about, causing tremors everywhere she went.
"C'mon," Lucy growled. "Where are you?"
She stomped one more time, and Elena shot up out of the ground, stuttering around, dizzy.
"Ugh, wha-"
"Lucy Regulus PUNCH!"
Elena, still dizzy, was unable to activate her density magic in time to block Lucy's Punch.
"AUGH!" she cried, stumbling back, gritting her teeth. Now she was angry!
Elena stood to her feet, punching her fists together. Her body began to fizzle until five copies of herself were created.
"Let's see how you do six on one," Elena and her clones all hissed towards Lucy.
"Hmph," Lucy sniffed. "Six on one, huh?"
Two of Elena's clones raced towards Lucy, only to stop dead in their tracks as an arrow shot each of them in the chest. Lucy, now in her Sagittarius form, held three keys up.
"How about four on four?" she asked menacingly.
"Eh!?" Elena gasped.
"Open gate of the lion, water-bearer, and scorpion! Leo! Aquarius! Scorpio!"
Three lights shined around Lucy as the three spirits in question appeared.
Elena's frown deepened as she charged towards Lucy. "Oh, you slimy-"
"Regulus light!" Loki shouted, aiming it towards Elena.
Lucy, however, put her hand over his. "Stop."
"Huh?" Loki asked, confused. "I don't-"
"You three get the clones," Lucy said as a yellow light began to overtake her. As the light diminished Elena felt a chill go down her spine.
Lucy stood in front of her dressed in what looked like a green, armor-plated jumpsuit, over which she wore an aqua and red kimono. Her hair was tied back in a tight braid that went all the way down her back as two, spikey and curved swords appeared in her hands.
"She's mine," Lucy hissed.
"Cancer and Sagittarius combination form! WICKED!" Scorpio cheered as he sent a sandblast at one of Elena's clones.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
"Here we go, guys!" Twilight Ogre's team leader, Dob, called as they reached the barrier around Fairy Tail's base. "Alright, let's get-AUGH!"
He shouted in fear as a goatman in a suit appeared in front of them.
"Evening," Capricorn said before he began throttling the group of teenage boys, sending them flying down the street.
"Good job, Capricorn!" Layla cheered from her building.
"Thank you, Miss Layla," Capricorn bowed in her direction.
From the top of another building, Igneel called: "Celestial Dragon, ROAR!"
Another group of intruders was blown away.
"Pleiades!" Minette shouted from another building. Six rays of light charged towards six more intruders on the backside.
"I don't smell or hear anyone else," Koree called from her position.
"It looks like they're all moving away," Persephone said as she tapped on her screen.
"I guess it's not worth it to them anymore," Farrah called. "They'll probably try and take some buildings that are easier to get to."
"Sure, sure, now lay down," Storm said, pushing Farrah onto her back. He continued healing her and Benedict. "Sheesh, what happened to you guys?"
Farrah glanced over at Benedict. He still had a dazed look on his face.
His dad was gone. Dead. He'd never hurt him, his mother, his sisters, or his friends ever again. He was free!
But that was still his dad. He now had no father.
Was he supposed to be happy? Sad? Excited? Angry? Horrified.
He didn't know how to feel.
He felt something soft and warm grab his hand. He turned to find Farrah intertwining her fingers with his.
"We really can't talk about it right now," Farrah said in response to Storm's question.
Benedict smiled in thanks at her, giving her hand a small squeeze.
She ran her thumb across the back of Benedict's hand as they let Storm continue healing them.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Elena's clone gritted her teeth, changing her body's density so that Scorpio's attack wouldn't harm her. It was a good idea...except that the clone could only hold her density to a lower level for a certain amount of time, whereas Scorpio seemed to be able to go on for as long as he wanted.
"Ah...Ah...NO!" Elena's clone shrieked as she was blown away, coughing and sputtering as the sand entered her lungs. She began plummeting back towards earth, only to be smacked in the gut by Scorpion's tail.
"So long, sucker!" Scorpio cheered as Elena's clone disappeared with a POOF!
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
"Um, sir…?"
Jura, who was watching the games from his office, heard someone calling him over his lacrima. He picked it up and held it to his ear. "Yes?"
"You have some visitors. They say they used to work for the council and that they need to talk to you…"
"Who?" Jura asked.
"Gajeel and Levy Redfox."
"Ah, yes, send them in!" Jura smiled. The door opened as Gajeel and Levy walked in.
"Ah, my old friends," Jura said as he stood to his feet to greet them.
"Yeah, no time for formalities, we've got a problem!" Gajeel said.
Jura's brow furrowed. "And what problem is that?"
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
The second of Elena's clones changed her body's density as well, not stopping to think that it wouldn't really matter as, no matter how dense or light she was, she still wouldn't be able to breathe underwater.
She tried to shout for help, but it was no use, her voice was gargled out of existence by the whirlpool. She changed back to normal, trying to swim to the surface, wherever that may have been in this crazy hurricane of a pool she was trapped in. She felt two strong hands grab her neck and push her back under.
"No, you don't!" Aquarius hissed, holding Elena's clone under the waves.
"Now, listen here and listen good, the only broad that gets to mess with Lucy and her brats is ME!"
Aquarius slammed her urn against the clone's head, knocking out the last bit of her consciousness, causing her to disappear.
"And don't come back," Aquarius muttered as she got rid of her water, returning her surroundings back to normal.
IIIIIIIIIIIII
"And Sabertooth is killing it!" Chapati cheered. "They've already acquired seventeen buildings!"
"Fairy Tail hasn't won anymore," Yajima said. "But, they have lost anymore either. I'm just interested to see…"
FWOOM!
"What is this?" Mato asked as dozens of Rune Knight Airships appeared in the sky.
"ATTENTION! ATTENTION!" a voice called from one of the airships. "THERE HAS BEEN A JAILBREAK! ALL COMPETITION EVENTS ARE TO BE SUSPENDED UNTIL THE CITY HAS BEEN SEARCHED AND ALL FUGITIVES HAVE BEEN TAKEN INTO CUSTODY!"
About a hundred Rune Knights jumped out of the airships and began running through the streets. It took a few seconds for about three criminals to be found.
"Uh...well, looks like the games have been put on pause because of a...a...jailbreak?" Chapati stuttered. "We...we'll be back after a word from our sponsors!"
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
"Augh! WHERE ARE YOU?" the last of Elena's clones shouted as she stumbled about, blind.
"Regulus, light!" Loki called from somewhere in the distance.
"ENOUGH WITH THE LIGHTS ALREADY!" the clone shouted angrily, waving her hands about.
"I think not," Loki answered, noticing that, in her anger, her body density had gone back to normal. He grabbed her by her wrist and threw her against a nearby light pole.
"Y'know, I usually consider myself a gentleman, so I don't typically hurt girls," Loki said as he strode towards the clone, grabbing her by the hair. "But in your case, I'm willing to make an exception!"
Loki punched her in the gut, sending her airborne. He then kicked her in the neck with a spin kick. She flew into the sidewall of the hotel with a sickening CRACK that caused her to disappear.
"And good riddance," Loki sniffed.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Elena gritted her teeth, staring Lucy down. She waved a hand, causing a nearby vehicle to rise into the air and fly straight at Lucy.
Elena smiled evilly. No matter how strong this woman was, she couldn't survive being crushed by a car!
Lucy simply raised one of her swords, slicing the car in half, both sides flying in opposite directions away from her.
Elena took a step back. That was unexpected. And more than just a tad alarming.
She raised both hands, sending two vehicles heading Lucy's way. She couldn't slice through two at once.
Lucy waited patiently, standing perfectly still. At the absolute possible moment, she stepped back, letting the two cars crash into each other in a fiery explosion.
"What!?" Elena gasped.
Lucy jumped over the explosion, swinging one of her swords. The spikes along her blade flew off, headed straight for Elena.
Elena barely managed to dodge each of them, glancing back at Lucy, only to see that the spikes had grown back.
She gritted her teeth. Alright, so clearly the long-range approach wasn't working! She'd have to get up close and personal! She pulled a knife out of her boot and charged towards Lucy, who had begun to slowly walk towards her, her lips moving in some kind of chant.
Lucy effortlessly stepped out of Elena's way, still chanting as Elena stumbled past her.
Elena screamed in frustration, turning around and jabbing her knife towards Lucy. Lucy effortlessly blocked each of the blows, never missing a beat in her chant. After a few more back and forths, Lucy kicked Elena in the gut, causing her to slide backward.
Elena glared as she looked back up, only then noticing that sparkling stars and planets surrounding her and Lucy.
"Wait, what?" Elena asked in a frightened voice before Lucy shouted-
"URANO METRIA!"
Elena's screams were drowned out as massive burst energy that seared her eyes, skin, and clothing.
Lucy simply waited patiently, a smug grin on her lips as the spell ended. Then she strode towards Elena, a confident but angry look on her face.
"You…" Elena chuckled with insane vigor. "You...you think you're going to stop me...that you're going to defeat me…"
"Uh, yeah, I just did," Lucy answered.
Elena groaned as she stood to her feet. "Oh? But I'm still standing!"
"You really don't know when to quit, do you?" Lucy asked.
"You don't quit-" Elena began cackling with insanity. "You don't quit when you're a mother! Not that you'd understand!"
"You're no mother," Lucy scoffed. "You're a monster!"
"And you are!?" Elena shouted in fury as she clumsily swung her knife at Lucy, who smacked it out of Elena's hand with a swipe of her sword.
"You lazy slug! You have no idea what it is to suffer for your children! To rot in a cell for your children!"
"You're really that insane, aren't you?" Lucy said, stunned. "You're absolutely delusional."
"No," Elena. "You are! You're the delusional one who stole one of my children from me and told the world she was your own!"
"She is my own!" Lucy hissed.
"No, she's not!" Elena screamed, charging towards Lucy, fists raised. Lucy caught her wrists, still holding her swords, both women pushing against the other.
"She's mine! Do you know how much trouble I went through to have her?" Elena asked.
"You slaughter her family!" Lucy screamed.
Elena just laughed all the more maniacally as she pushed Lucy back. Lucy stumbled slightly but didn't fall.
"You really don't know what it means to be a mother, do you?" Elena chuckled as she bent down and picked up her knife. "A mother would do anything for her family, even kill!"
A sad gleam came over Lucy's eyes. This woman really wasn't going to stop, was she? Even jail hadn't been enough to keep her from coming back after them. She went so far as to send them to another dimension. There was nothing that would stop her.
Nothing but one thing.
"You're right," Lucy sighed.
Elena raised her knife and ran towards Lucy. Lucy ducked Elena's blade and stabbed her sword upward.
Elena gasped as a sharp pain went through her middle. She looked down, finding herself impaled on one of Lucy's swords. She gasped, changed density to escape the blade, but it was too late.
Her body changed to normal a few steps from Lucy. Elena stared down at the massive wound in her torso. She placed both hands against it, trying in vain to stop the bleeding before falling to her knees and collapsing.
Lucy sighed sadly, a yellow glow covering her body as her star dress and weapons disappeared. She walked over to Elena, putting a finger to her neck to check for a pulse.
Nothing.
Lucy rolled her onto her back and closed her eyes before standing and walking back to the hotel.
Elena Alteria was dead.
"Lucy!"
Lucy turned to find Natsu running towards her.
"Hey," she called weakly as he pulled her into a hug. The parents of the other babies ran up to Natsu and Lucy a few seconds later.
"Is…" Wendy stuttered as she glanced at Elena. "Is she dead?"
"Yeah," Lucy nodded. "She's dead."
"Good, screw that broad," Bixlow said.
Lucy sighed deeply. She really didn't want it to come to this, but Elena really gave her no choice.
A fanfare of music blasted over the city.
"Alright!" Chapati's voice. "And we're back!"
The games began again and continued as if nothing had happened for the next twelve hours. No one in Fairy Tail really had the heart to participate though. They had more important things to worry about.