Ok, I'm sorry for the delay, but college is taking it's toll. Also, it's video game season and there are so many new games I want coming out that I want to play. I will try my best to update this story. Swimming With Mermaids has a wiki now! It's all thanks to RadioPoisoning, who took time and effort out of their day to help set up a wiki(seriously, you rock!). The wiki has pictures of every character, although there aren't any official ones of Rubi yet (I just recolor Pyrrha's eyes), and has info on attacks and what not. It's not 100% complete, but new stuff is being added to it every day.
The link is on my profile.
This chapter is now my longest chapter, at a whopping 8.8k. This will conclude the current arc, which is 19.1k and 64 pages on Microsoft Word. This chapter also puts me over 100k words! I never thought I would get this far! Thank you guys for your continued support! As always, thank you, redscarfninja for beta'ing this chapter.
The Last Project
After our discovery, Araña and I went around the town, gathering more data. We went from house to house, testing people's magic level, and found that everyone's was low. We then decided to spend another night and continue our investigation the next day. I was the first to awake, and once again, Araña ended up in my bed. I decided to let her sleep in and left a note saying that I was going to report our findings to the mayor, and I'd be back in an hour. We did a lot of stuff yesterday that left us fairly worn out. I actually woke up at noon, which never happens! I let Araña get her beauty sleep while I deal with the boring stuff… Or so I thought.
"WHAT!?" The mayor angrily slams his fists onto his desk, causing anything that was resting upon it to jump violently. The Mayor of Lavender Town was an extraordinary large man, who completely towered over me. He was bald, save for a small, lock of curly blonde hair sprouting from just above his brow, which is bald. He has a thick handle bar mustache, and a chiseled cleft chin. "Someone dares to threaten MY citizens like THIS!?" He raises a fist in the air and starts shaking it angrily. "They will not get away with THIS, if I, Mayor Armstrong, has anything to say about it!" He then flexes his biceps, his muscles were rippling, and his bare abs were…
Wait a minute… when did he take off his shirt!? And holy crap, how much those this guy lift!? I bet he can bench a bus!
He then looks me in the eyes, his sapphire blue eyes a direct contrast from my ruby red ones. For some reason, he was literally sparkling… Why do I attract all the weirdos?
"Explain to me the situation in detail." His face was serious, but still sparkling.
"Well, I noticed yesterday, and the day before that, the people who I've seen collapse had low magic levels. At first, I thought it was coincidence, but the second time got me suspicious. I checked all the people at the church and they all had one thing in common. They all had low magic levels. They were slowly regaining magic and the people who been there for a day or two were almost at normal levels. Me and my companion went around town checking random people's levels, and they were slowly draining to dangerously low levels." I put a hand up to my chin. "So I thought it was weird that the people inside the church were regaining magic, while the people outside were draining…"
"So everyone had low magic levels, and were draining magic unless they were inside the church?" He raises a brow.
I nod. "Well, yeah, except for Father Mendez, who had regular levels of magic…" I say, contemplating the situation.
"Are you saying Mendez is responsible for this!?" He asks aggressively, pounding his desk in the process, causing it to crack a little.
I shake my head. "No, I do not think Mendez is responsible. I've seen him relentlessly help who ever needed it. I think it is more likely someone set up a magic draining spell or field, and the church has a ward protecting it, thus protecting whoever is inside of it. That would explain why all the townspeople outside of it are being affected… Although, Mayor, you seem pretty energetic and don't look affected at all…"
"Hmm…" His left pectoral twitches, which causes me to involuntarily look at it in fascination and slight disgust. "I haven't felt any type of drain, but I have seen my citizens become weak and barley able to walk. I think I am unaffected because I have a lot of magic power!" He flexes both his biceps in a strong man pose.
I can feel myself sweat drop, but also raise a brow. "A lot of magic power… Are you a mage, Mayor Armstrong?"
"Haha, why yes, I am!" He proclaims proudly before grabbing the glass paper weight on his desk. It flashes brightly, and what was a spherical orb, is now a figurine that looks exactly like the shirtless Mayor with his arm flexed. "Before I came here and became the Mayor, I was a magic sculptor of unparalleled skill! No one knows how to use sculptor magic like I do!" He boasts before kissing his left bicep. "It must be my unrivaled strength that protects me from this terrible drain! Lifting weights every day has paid off, even if my neighbor is bothered by it..." He trails off, scoffing. "She calls me weird for grunting loudly from the exhilaration of exercise, but look who's laughing now! Maybe she should have joined in on the fun, rather than ruining all of those children's birthday parties with her depressing, disruptive music! Blah blah blah MUSCLE blah blah!"
I start spacing out, and rather than try to listen to the Mayor's boastful speech, I decide to piece together the clues I currently have. The citizens seemed to be the only ones that were being affected, except those who were at the church, and the Mayor. Now that I think about it, I haven't felt any type of drain either, and Araña hadn't mentioned feeling tired as well… Hmm, so that must mean… "I got it!" I exclaim, interrupting the Mayor's speech. He looks at me, with a somewhat disappointed look on his face. I presume he was enjoying his speech. "I figured out why you and I are not affected. I theorize it's because we are mages, and we have much larger stores of magic power, and we absorb ethernano faster than the Magic Drain can take. That's why we don't feel sick. Its effect on us is barley even noticeable."
The Mayor puts his hand on his chin and processes my words. "Hmm, that explanation seems very reasonable and thought out..." He suddenly slams a fist onto his desk, completely breaking it, and I jump back in surprise. "I, Mayor Armstrong, hire you to find this fiend!" He shouts, the splinters from the desk flying everywhere. "I will give you 200,000 Jewels for your services, and I will get in touch with the Magic Council!"
This guy has no chill, whatsoever… Well, at least I get to take down the one responsible for this… I think this might be a little too dangerous for Araña. I need to inform her of the situation. "I accept. I will return shortly. I'm going to inform my partner."
He nods in response. "Yes, it is most wise to not to go alo-" He stops, as he has just now noticed the carnage he has caused, and sighs. "It seems that I have gone a little over board… I'll get this desk replaced by the time you get back. Farewell, Rubina Crimson!" He salutes, and then starts picking up the pieces of his shattered desk.
I nod, and quickly make my way out of the building. Once I was out, I let out a sigh of relief. I didn't know how much longer I could keep my composure. Mayor Armstrong was just too… intense… and a little… eccentric… again, why am I a magnet for weirdos? Anyway, I need to have a talk with Araña about the situation. I know she'll be bummed that she won't be able come with me to fight whoever is responsible for this, but I cannot risk her life like this. Plus, Lana would literally skin me alive and keep my head as a trophy.
I shiver.
Walking up to the Inn, I notice that the door is suspiciously wide open. A bad feeling starts welling up within me, and I start walking faster. I enter the Inn and immediately notice that the place is a mess, with the contents of the room strewn about, as if a tornado came through here. My heartbeat quickens and Immediately rush to our room and find the door completely open. "Araña!" I yell frantically as I blitz into the room, which is also trashed. "Araña!?" I yell once more. I start hyperventilating at the silence that responds to my calls.
Someone took Araña.
"Shit, shit, shit!" I pace back forth in panic. Eventually, I couldn't take it anymore and vent my anxiety and frustration by punching the wall. Unfortunately, I didn't realize I enhanced my punch and half the wall collapses under the immense force exerted on it. "Fuck…" I raggedly breath out.
Ok, Rubi, you need to calm down. You need stop acting like a headless chicken and look for any signs of where the bastard went. Let's start with who would take Araña… Probably the same person who is responsible for what is happening in this town. Motive for abducting Araña… Maybe they figured out we were onto them? I look around for any type of clue, but I don't spot anything, until my attention is drawn to a few strands of green silk hanging from the door knob. I rush over and grab the suspicious strands. It feels like spider silk. I pump a little magic into the web like substance and it glows a bright neon green.
Yep, definitely Araña's work. I let out a little magic power, which creates a magic field around me. Suddenly, more neon green strands light up, leading all the way down the hallway and out the door. Araña, you deceptive genius! I knew there was a shrewd tactician behind that cheerful personality! I walk to the door and stick my head out and pulse a little bit of magic. Neon green strands light up, and the trail of silk forms a trail down the street.
Bingo!
I start sprinting through the streets, constantly pulsing my magic to reveal the barely visible trail. It eventually leads me the edge of town, and I stop when the trail leads me right to the brick road leading to the museum. Then the implications of what this means hit me in full force, and I come to an angry conclusion.
Victor, you devious, despicable, backstabbing bastard.
A growl escapes me, and I start sparking up from the internal rage building up within my very being. My hands form fist, and they tighten severely. I crack my joints angrily, and waste no time going full speed up the hill. What took ten minutes by walking, took me under a minute going full speed. To a normal person, I probably would have appeared like a crimson flash, racing up the hill.
The door to the museum is wide open, and a quick pulse of my magic showed the neon green trail leading into the building. I go on high alert, and slowly approach building, checking all the windows for any sign life. When I approach the door, I cautiously step inside, looking for any type of traps that may be present. I pulse magic once again, and the silk trail leads me to the room with last journal. This is where the trail ends. Ok, there must be a secret passage somewhere. There has to be, I just have to…
I then notice that the last journal is open, and out of its glass case. Like a moth to a flame, the entire situation becomes forgotten as I am drawn to the book. I start flipping through the book, like an eager child would a picture book, and what I find shocks me. Inside the journal is schematics of robotic like arms and legs. I then see more schematics of various weapon like objects.
I don't like the way this is heading…
I turn another page, and I freeze at what I see. Spanning two pages is the schematics of a dragon like machine. Over the next few pages, there were more detailed pictures of various parts of the machine, like weapon placements, movements of various joints, and the placement of the power source. "What in the world…" I say in confusion and awe. Flipping through even more pages revealed an alternate machine, that looked more human like, and was carrying a lance and shield. "Why is Henry Rockwell building Megazords?" I question out loud. I reach the last page, and there was a thin, green layer that was hard to the touch. I came to the conclusion that it was a lacrima, and activate it.
A holographic figure suddenly appears and I jump back in surprise.
It is a hologram of an elderly man wearing a brown suit. He has snow white hair, and a long beard. "To all my *cough* decedents, I leave you one, final mission… Complete *cough* my final project, and rid the world of the oppression of monarchy, and the aristocracy. To stop… to stop the needless slaughter of innocent people *hack, cough cough* Please, complete the machine that will set the world free of greedy rulers, that will unite humanity under one banner against a common enemy. Not even I, the Great Henry Rockwell, can complete this alone. Time is *cough* against me, and I can tell already the design requires elements that even I can't invent. But, I know in time that everything required will fall into place… Please *cough* bring upon the reckoning, and install the new world order… Under the rule of Dorma Anim." The hologram message ends.
Oh my god… Henry Rockwell went AWOL and is planning on having his decedents continue a death machine… Dorma Anim… Where have I heard that name before… Edolas… Shit, I think the death robot in that arc was called the exact same thing, so that must mean that Rockwell and his decedents are building an Earthland equivalent… Wait. Victor said he never married, and thus not having chil-
I face palm in realization. Victor is the decedent of Henry Rockwell. He didn't tell me because he probably wanted to keep his nefarious deeds a secret. That son of a bitch…
I hear a muffled scream coming from behind a bookshelf that was in front of me, and I remember the reason why I was here. Shit! I totally forgot about Araña! I take one last glance at the journal, and decide to store it in my requip space. No one must know how this machine is built. Who knows what would happen if a government got control of it?
I scramble to the bookshelf where the scream came from, and I notice a book that looks suspiciously out of place. Using my knowledge of classic clichés, I pull on the book and the shelf opens to reveal a stone stair case that was lit with lacrima lights. I rush down the spiraling set of stairs until I come to a large underground chamber. The only things that occupied the chamber was a giant object hidden underneath a black cloak, Victor standing at some sort of control panel, and an unconscious Araña strapped to some sort of bed with a black tube that was pulsing.
"Araña!" I rush towards her, only to smash into some type of invisible force field, and I'm sent backwards into the wall. "Ow son of a…" I start rubbing my head, and look up see a shimmering barrier flash out of existence.
"Oh, looks like someone figured it out…" Comes the condescending voice of Victor. He lets out a mad cackle as he walks towards me. "My great-great-great grandfather was truly a genius, wasn't he? Creating a magic barrier system based off lacrima, so that even non-mages like me could protect myself from outside threats. Of course, I never thought my biggest threat would come in the form a red haired little girl…" He has smug smirk on his face that really pisses me off.
I stand up and draw my sword, getting into a combat stance just in case something attacks me. I make a menacing growl, and I feel myself scowl. "Let Araña go, you fiend!" I shout, which draws an arrogant chuckle from the jerk behind the invisible barrier.
He shakes his head. "No can do, Rubi-chan. I've spent several weeks siphoning the energy off the residents of Lavender Town for far too long. Dorma Anim just can't seem to absorb ethernano from the air too well. It would have taken several more weeks to reach acceptable levels for startup. Combine poor air absorption rate with that meddling Father Mendez sheltering my power sources with that warded church of his, it would have been forever before my ancestor's dream came to life." He then starts cackling menacingly.
"People aren't just power sources!" A surge of anger explodes and I strike at him with my sword, only for it to bounce off the invisible barrier.
He doesn't even flinch, and is still looking at me a smug smirk. "I wouldn't try to break the barrier; I could always kill your friend right now…" He threatens calmly, and holds up a small remote like device with some buttons on it. "One press of a button, and your friend is fried by overwhelming amounts of raw ethernano…" I grudgingly refrain from making a second swipe. His smirk widens. "Since you and dear Araña-chan arrived, I found a much more… rich source of power." He continues. "I was initially going to ignore you two and let you pass through, but I so happened to overhear you talking to Araña about possibly calling in the council with a hidden lacrima, and I couldn't have you doing that…" He then walks back to his control panel he was standing at earlier. "Things go by so much faster when you have a direct hookup to a plentiful magic source." He makes a small chuckle. "Did you know that most mages, even as ones as young as little Araña-chan over here, can have at least ten times the amount of magic power than a regular civilian like myself? It just so happens she has just enough to complete the charging on Dorma Anim and kick start the Arcane Engine."
"Why are you doing this!? This crazy plan concocted by some senile old man can only lead to disaster!" I shout, before a wave of confusion hits me as I processed all of his words. "If you are a civilian, why weren't you affected by the drain of the machine!?"
"Oh, Rubi-chan, if you paid attention yesterday you would know the answer…" He reaches into his pocket, pulls a yellow container, the same one that contained his allergy medicine he took yesterday. "Inside this container was not allergy medicine, but rather ethernano absorption pills. These prevented me from being sucked dry by my machine." He shakes the container tauntingly before putting it back in his pocket. "As for carrying out the plan…" A crazed look appears on his face. "Henry Rockwell was right about everything. Monarchies, and governments in general divide the people and pit them against each other. Causing war, inequality, greed, and the eventual death of us as a species." He lets out a cackle. "So my ancestor researched a time when humankind was unified, and that was when the mythical dragons were at the top of the food chain, and humanity was united for the sake of survival. So, what's the best way to unite mankind once more? Bring back the threat of the dragons! Unfortunately, dragons have been long dead, Henry Rockwell laid the groundwork for making a new dragon. One that will unite the world in a fight against it. But for that to happen, all the governments of Ishgar must be destroyed!" He breaks out into full blown psychotic laughter.
"You're insane! That involves the deaths of an insane amount of people!" I try to shout reason into the mad man. My magic starts sparking around my body.
An ominous, mechanical, groan fills the air, and a look of glee appears on Victor's face. "Oh! It's finally done, and it looks like your friend here has just barely enough magic to spare! Good for her!" A glowing pair of red eyes light up from under the cloak. "Well, I think I'm going test out Dorma Anim by destroying that annoying little town…" He says as he quickly walks behind the machine.
"You… You bastard!" I start punching the barrier, but to no avail.
"It's no use, Rubi-chan!" Comes Victor's voice from a loud speaker. The machine under the cloak sparks to life and starts turning around. This causes the cloak to rip, revealing the machine, which looked like the one from the anime I had seen many years ago. When it's back was fully turned, and the wall started opening up, letting in the sunlight and revealing the forest. "The room is set to explode in one minute, Rubi-chan. So if you value your life, I would leave now…" Is the last that is said before the machine rushes out of the chamber.
My eyes widen. "Shit…" I need to get past this barrier and get Araña! I pump magic to my sword and the blade becomes shrouded in lightning. I then slash at the barrier, but it still holds strong. Ok, this isn't working… He said it was a lacrima based barrier, so it has a certain load limit that overloads the lacrimas. The problem is, I haven't hit its load limit. That means I have to apply an extreme amount of force… I need to go full speed within such a small space.
I quickly jump backwards and extend my arm in front of myself, ready to strike, and then in a split second, I lunge forward, covering the twenty feet between me and the barrier in a less than a second. The tip of my lightning shrouded blade pierces the barrier like a hot knife through butter. I land just a few feet from Araña and I rush over to her and cut her loose.
"Rubi-nee…" She says weakly, her eyes were slightly open.
"Shh, talk later!" I shout, and I carry her bridal style. I need to get the fuck out of here before I'm incinerated! Glowing red lines start appearing on the wall of the chamber and start flashing. "Shit!" I start leaping with magic enhanced speed towards the same exit the machine went through. As I leap out of the chamber, a massive, concussive wave smacks me in the back, and I suddenly find myself, and Araña, flying through the air, ears ringing and feeling my heart beat out of my chest.
I come back to my senses, secure my grip on Araña and then make a smooth landing. The ringing starts to fade and I look behind me to see the hill that museum was built on, completely obliterated and on fire. A massive plume of smoke was rising into the air and was blocking out the sun. But that wasn't important, though. Araña was my main concern. I look back the girl I was carrying and gently set her down on the forest floor. She was still breathing, just barley, and I check her pulse and magic levels. She was very drained and was most likely suffering from magic exhaustion. But luckily, she had enough magic power to shield her a little from the effects of the blast.
"Rubi-nee…" She calls out weakly.
"Shh, it's okay Araña. I'm here…" I comfort her. I need to stop Victor somehow, but I can't leave Araña here… I think I have an idea. "Stay still, Araña, I'm going to try to transfer some magic power to you…" She releases a low moan, which I assume is one of agreement. I close my eyes and concentrate. I have never transferred magic power before, but I needed to this, for Araña. Now is not the time for my magic to act like the stubborn jackass it usually was. I slowly feel the trickle of power flow into Araña, and after minute, I stop.
I open my eyes to see Araña looking much better, and she opens hers fully, staring up at me tiredly. "What, happened, Rubi-nee?"
"I have no time to explain. I need to you stay here for a little bit. If I'm not back in an hour, I need you to run all the way back to Salice. Ok? This is not a debate." I say seriously, looking her straight in the eyes.
She gulps, but nods.
"I'll be back. I promise." I take off at full speed, following the trail of that metal monstrosity. It was quite easy to track actually, considering it left a path of knocked down trees. I eventually arrive at the edge of the forest and burst into the field of indigo plants. I immediately spot the mechanized dragon, and I form a spear of lighting in my hands while running towards it. "Gungnir!" I throw the spear while leaping high above the machine. I land in front of beast in time to see the Gungnir explode into a shower of sparks on its back.
It stops almost instantly and I now have the opportunity to see what this thing actually looks like. In the sunlight, it didn't look completely like the machine I remembered from the anime. It looked extremely similar for sure, but it looked more primitive as well. Like it just looks a little bulkier around the back area than I remember, and the armor panels on the shoulders and kneecaps weren't smooth, but rather kind of blocky. I think this is because Edolas was way more advanced in tech…
"Oh? Looks like you survived… Are you really going to try to stop me!?" I then hear mocking laughter through the speakers. "Oh, this is too cute! This marvel of engineering was designed to take out an army of wizards! What do you think you're gonna do!? You have no chance of winning against something hundreds of years in the making!"
He is probably right, but I cannot allow him to slaughter innocent people. I will not allow him to turn Lavender Town into another Rosemary. Not if I can do anything about it. No matter how remote the odds may be… I'm sorry Kagura, Erza-nee, but I'm about to do something extremely stupid. "As long as there is still breath within me, as long as magic still runs through my veins, I will do everything within my power to stop you and your batshit crazy ancestor's plans! That's a guarantee!".
A chuckle permeates the air. "Very well. Your death will be the first step towards revolution…" A barrage of missiles suddenly flies out of its back and heads towards me at incredible speeds. I take a massive leap backwards and they crash into the ground where I had previously stood, creating a symphony of explosions and a tidal wave of pressure that blows my hair back. Fire erupts from the cloud of smoke and suddenly a massive red beam of pure energy bursts through plume.
I leap high into air, just narrowly escaping instant incineration and from my vantage point, I see the metal beast shooting the very beam that almost killed me out of its mouth. Not wasting time, I form several rods in my right hand that were shaped like the stereo typical lightning bolt one would find in cartoons. "Zeus's Wrath!" I throw the bolts at the machine and each one split into several more bolts, creating rain of crimson electricity. They then hit the back of the machine, exploding violently, and the smell of ozone fills the air as I land several yards behind it. I turn around to see the machine unharmed.
So, this thing is as tough as it looks.
"Well, I got to admit, Kid, you are quite talented for your age…" The mechanized dragon slowly turns around to face me. "But it will take more than that pitiful excuse for a spell to lay a scratch on Dorm Anim!" A swarm of missiles fly out it's back once more, but this time it was double the amount.
I quickly get into a wide stance and hold both hands out. "Thunder Wall!" A massive wall of crimson lighting appears in front of me, the crackling of lightning was almost as loud as the massive swarm of flying bombs coming at me. The wall of electricity catches the swarm and explosions once again take over the world, causing smoke and ash to fill the air. A few stray missiles make it through the wall, and I jump once more, but find that some follow me up to the sky. "Chain Lightning!" I send the bolt of electricity into the small pack of missiles and the arcs of electricity connect between them, causing them to explode, blocking my view of below with a massive plume of smoke.
Once again, a beam of red energy bursts through the cloud, and misses me by inches. The intense heat of it was so much that I had to use magic power to strengthen my body against it. Seeing another opportunity, I pull my lightsaber out of requip space and it springs to life. I get into a stabbing stance and spark electricity to my feet, making me descend towards metal beast at incredible speed. I needed to hit a weak spot, and the neck joints were practically begging to be cut. I ended up landing on the base of the tail, but I waste no time sprinting across the back of machine, and start slashing at the neck My slashes don't do much as they just leave red hot slashes that reveal no marks once cooled down. I then stab the lightsaber into the neck, hoping for greater penetration, but it doesn't cut through the metal like I expected, but rather just heat it up to almost red hot. This catches me by surprise.
What in the hell is this thing made of!?
I'm suddenly hit by what feels like a freight train in my momentary lapse of concentration. I'm sent straight into ground and if it weren't for the passive magic barrier that all mages have, I would have most definitely broken a lot of bones.
It didn't stop it hurting like a bitch though…
I groan in pain, but quickly dodge out of the way of a giant metallic snake. I quickly gain some distance and find out the metallic snake was actually the machine's tail. The tail quickly pulls out of the ground and goes back its original position. "I've got to say, you are definitely blowing my expectations of you out of the water…" A chuckle then fills the air. "But not as much as Dorma Anim is exceeding all of its expectations! Yeah, there may be some bugs with the missile tracking system, but everything else is flawless! When I'm done with you and Lavender Town, Crocus will stand no chance! Not even the Ten Wizard Saints will be no match!" Mad, hysterical laughter follows his declarations.
Ok, Rubi, while he is bathing in his self-glory, it's time to form a new plan. The machine itself doesn't look very flexible or fast, and that must be why he is sticking with long range engagements because he knows he can't catch me on foot. Its tail is the only thing that flexible and is quite fast… It also hits like a truck, but that's only a problem if it strikes you My lightsaber looked like it was working quite well, but it wasn't big enough, nor powerful enough to get through even the neck, where the armor should be thin. I need to hit it with a strong, concentrated blast of magic…. I think I have just the technique, but it's a huge gamble…
I dust myself off, and spot my lightsaber a few feet away. I hold my hand out and start sparking electricity through my fingers. The hilt wobbles little bit, before flying towards my hand. Catching the hilt was a very satisfying feeling, because I felt like a freaking Jedi.
I love electromagnetism.
"Oh? You ready for round two!? I don't know why you keep going. You will never defeat Dorma Anim! The only reason why I haven't killed you yet, is because I wanted to test what this beautiful machine can do in real combat! And it is glorious!" He cackles, and the machine goes into a wide open stance. "So come on then! Hit me with your best shot! I know you won't be able lay a scratch on me!"
I feel a surge of annoyance flow through me, and I feel my fist clench. I put my lightsaber back into my requip space, and start charging up almost all of my magic power. I feel the massive rush of energy flow throughout my body, and crimson sparks start arcing out of me, incinerating the lavender plants that were unlucky to be touched by the extremely hot sparks. The arcs electricity intensifies, and a literal storm of sparks is running rampant around me, and I could feel my hair stand on end with all the electricity flowing through me. I bring both hands together so that they are just inches apart. I then force all the energy I charged up to flow through my arms and into the space between my hands. A bright, crimson sphere of energy starts forming, and as more and more energy is put into the sphere, I condense it, which makes it even more bright. The sound that all the condensed energy is making is similar to the chidori, but instead of one chidori, it sounds like ten at once, thus making it sound like a high pitched whine rather than a thousand birds chirping.
I finally manage to get all my energy condensed into the sphere, and it was starting to get difficult to control of it. I need this attack to hit. With all this condensed energy, it should melt through that machine. If it doesn't work…
I banish those negative thoughts as I take aim towards the machine, which was still standing there in a wide open stance. I release a calming breath, "You're gonna regret letting me charge this up…" I say under my breath. Let's see that hunk of junk take on this! "Zap Cannon!" The energy from the sphere is released in a massive, crimson beam that rockets toward machine at speed almost imperceivable to the human eye. It slams into the machine and the explosion that follows is instantaneous and so intense, that I'm knocked back by the shock wave, and I shield my eyes with my arms.
After the initial blast was over, I uncover my eyes to see the entire area in front of me clouded in a thick, black smoke, and a mushroom cloud was forming. I then feel the intense drain of magic from using that attack, and I stumble, almost falling over completely, but I manage to catch myself. I start feeling a little light headed, but after a few seconds of heavy breathing, I feel little bit better. That last attack drained a crap ton of energy out of me… I almost used enough energy to send me into magic exhaustion… I shouldn't use this attack anymore, because it leaves me wide open for an attack if the tar-
I'm suddenly slammed by what feels like a meteorite and sent spiraling into the air uncontrollably. While in the air, time seems to slow down and I feel an excruciating pain coming from my ribs… The passive magic barrier must have given out… I notice the ground coming closer while spiraling through the air… Well, this is going suck... Massively.
Time speeds up and I land feet first, instantly collapsing, causing my head to slam onto the ground. I let out a gasp as pain explodes all over my body. For a few moments, my world is nothing but pure, unadulterated pain. I'm seeing stars, and my left leg feels numb. The adrenaline kicks in and the initial pain subsides, and my vision clears. I think I might have a concussion…I prop myself up, and try to stand, only to find that my left leg won't move properly. I look down to see it bent at a sickening, unnatural angle.
Oh look… My leg is broken… All I could do is stare at it, not comprehending what just happened… Then the intense, throbbing pain kicks in "AH FUCKING SON OF BITCH!" Oh my god! My leg is fucking broken! The throbbing pain becomes numb, most likely from the endorphins my body is releasing because my leg is fucking broken!
My festival of pain is interrupted by maniacal laughter. I look to the source to find a completely different machine from the one I was facing earlier. Now stood a black, more humanoid looking machine with a lance in one hand and a shield in the other. It was even taller and the tail was sticking out of its back… In fact, it looked like the other machine in the journal… Rubi, you idiot! You completely forgot about Dorma Anim's other form!
"I can't believe you fell for that!" Comes the mocking laughter of Victor. "I forgot to tell you, but no magic works on Dorma Anim! It's all thanks to the magic nullifying metal that makes up its body! Not only that, Dorma Anim is terrible absorbing ethernano from the air, but when a direct beam of highly concentrated magic comes in direct contact with it…" He trails off.
"Son of bitch…" I breathe out. I then wince, because it was painful to breath.
"Yes! Now you get it! That last attack, and pretty much all of your attacks, were feeding Dorma Anim, allowing me to activate its second form!" He laughs once more.
I… I… I have just been feeding this stupid machine… All of my attacks were futile from the beginning…
I feel a tears escape my eyes.
The lance on the machine's arm glows purple and it swings at me, creating a glowing purple whip that hits the ground in front of me. The impact sends me flying once more and my back connects with something hard.
I yelp in pain and I cough violently. I notice that the coughs contained blood… I manage to look up to notice that I hit a tree that was in the middle of the field. My breaths were a mix of painful sobs and ragged huffs.
"I've got admit, you've definitely got some serious power, Kid, but your effort was for naught…" The machine starts slowly walking towards me, its footsteps causing to the earth shake.
Is this… is this where I die? I can't die now! I'm not even a teenager yet! I can't die! I just can't!
My painful sobs intensify.
I... I don't what to do… none of my attacks will work on it, and even they did, I don't have enough energy to create another death beam… I need something that doesn't rely on magic to do damage, but the only thing I have is my sword... That's not an option because it will snap like a tooth pick… Goddammit! I don't know what to do!
I'm sorry Kagura… Erza-nee... Maribelle… Celia… Looks like I won't make it out of this one…
Suddenly, an idea sparks through my pain clouded brain I do have something that can cause a lot of damage without being magic based! I just need to summon it…
I hold out my hand and concentrate really hard, and with the last of my normal magic reserves, a coin appears in the palm of my hand. It is the same cast iron coin that I was given the other day. I shakily position the heavy coin on top of my thumb and point it at the machine, more specifically, the chest area where I remember the magic core is located. The machine had stopped several yards away from me, and the lance was glowing purple again.
"Oh? Are you gonna flip a coin on whether or not I'll miss!? Spoiler! I won't!" He laughs once more, before asking in a serious tone. "Any last words, Rubina Crimson?"
For my plan to work, I'm gonna need to launch this sucker at extremely fast speeds. Probably twice as fast as any bullet… I'm gonna have to use the magic energy that sustains my bodily functions to do that… I might die from this, but I'll die regardless if I do it or not, so I have nothing to lose.
"Y-Yeah…" I say as I flip the coin in the air. "Heads or Tails?" I pump as much magic power into my arm, producing a plethora of lightning, thus creating a very strong electromagnetic field. As the coin is about to fall past my thumb, I direct all of the lighting, which in turned directed the electromagnetic field towards the machine's chest area. The coin is launched by the intense electromagnetic field, and skyrockets towards the machine at such an intense velocity, that it ignites the atmosphere around it and create a glowing hot streak as it flies straight through the air.
The heavy iron coin hits the chest area with pure kinetic force, and like how an Rocket Propelled Grenade goes through steel plate, the coin blasts right through, leaving a wide, molten hole in its place. The machine then starts stumbling backwards.
I think I might have launched that coin a little too fast… Nah… I feel my conscious slip from my control, and I can't keep my eyes open… Yep, that's the severe magic depletion kicking in…
The last thing I see through my closing eyes was machine stumbling backwards before falling and exploding into flames.
XXX
I regain consciousness to the sound of a heartbeat monitor, and I slowly open my eyes. Blurry vision greats me, and it takes a few blinks for it clear up. The first thing I notice is that I'm in the Mermaid Heel infirmary. The second thing I notice that my leg was propped up and in a solid, white cast, and that my neck was very stiff. The third thing I notice was a head of purple hair resting beside my good leg.
"K-Ka" is all I could get out as my throat was incredibly dry.
Kagura, stirred in her sleep and then looks up, blinking tiredly, before realizing who had called her name. Her eyes widen. "Rubi!" She lunges at me with a full body hug that cause me to groan in pain. The scent of lavender fills my nostrils, and it takes a moment to realize that Kagura's hair was the source of it… I didn't know she used lavender shampoo…
She mumbles something into my shoulder that I can't understand. "W-Wha…" I try to speak properly, but my throat is still a little dry.
Kagura lifts her head from my shoulder and she is completely sobbing. "I thought you were going to die!" She sobs out "Y-You came back, almost… almost dead and broken… I… I…" She loses her ability to talk due to her distress. I could feel that my shoulder was soaked.
"I-I.. I'm s-sorry…" I rasp.
"Y-You're sorry?" She asks incredulously. "You almost died you idiot!" And just like that, her sorrow turns into scolding anger. "Shishou told us not to fight enemies stronger than us! And what is the first thing you do!?"
I flinch a little. "It was… It was going to kill people… I couldn't let… couldn't let it…" I tiredly defend my actions.
Kagura looks conflicted. She knows that I was correct in trying the save people, but she was still upset at the fact I almost died. She eventually calms herself down, deciding it's not worth arguing over whether or not it's okay to let civilians die. She sighs, and a small smile appears on her face. "What am I going to do with you? The one time you go on a job without me, you end up in the hospital…" She then hugs me again, but gentler this time. I try to return the hug, but my limbs are kind of stiff.
She lets go of the hug and gets off the bed. "I'm going to let you rest now. You can tell me the story later…" She walks towards the door and then leaves the room.
I make a sigh of relief. I was alive, and that's all that matters…
…My leg is still broken though…
XXX
I found out later that I was in a coma for two weeks and sustained a concussion, a few cracked ribs, a bruised back, a broken leg and a case of second degree magic exhaustion… Normally, this would take forever on earth to recover from, but since I was in earthland and a mage, I will probably be good as new in about four or five months.
About two weeks after I woke up in Mermaid Heel, the door opens and a man in a rune knight uniform walks in. He was slim, and was an average height. He had black hair that was tied up in the back, and had purple eyes with oval glasses resting on the bridge of his nose. He seemed very familiar…
"Ah, hello there. Are you Rubina Crimson of Mermaid Heel?" He asks politely as he walks toward my bed.
I nod. "Yes…" I ask warily. I notice he was holding a white box in his hand
"Ah good." He says as he stops at my bed. "I am Captain Lahar of the 4th Custody Enforcement Unit. I came here to ask you about what happened in Lavender Town."
"Um, am I in trouble?" I ask nervously.
He shakes his head. "No, not at all. I just came here to get all the details in order. In fact…" He holds the box that is in his hand, and opens it, revealing a gold, five pointed star with a blue magic council cross in the center of it. "You are receiving the Gold Star, one of the highest honors you can receive, for your bravery and heroics at Lavender Town."
I'm getting an award… I never gotten an award before…. Is this how Patrick Star felt?
He closes the box. "But before I can award this, you must give the details on what happened in lavender town."
I sigh, but I nod my head. I told him everything. How we arrived there, how I caught on to Victor's schemes, and even how I defeated the robot by a desperate, last minute, hail Mary plan to shoot a coin at hypersonic velocities with the energy that sustained my body, which caused me to black out for a couple of weeks. What I didn't tell him was that I had Henry Rockwell's journal in my requip space. I didn't want it to fall into anyone's hands, especially the council's. I don't know when Jellel infiltrated the council, but I don't want journal falling into his possession.
"So you shot a cast iron coin with your magic? I didn't think that was possible, considering the fact that cast iron doesn't really respond well to magic." He inquires.
"I didn't directly affect it with my magic, but instead used my magic to create an electromagnetic field, and then used that field to launch the coin. Thus, my magic didn't directly launch the coin, but rather directed the magnetic field and the coin followed the path of the field at an extreme velocity, thus bypassing the magic nullifying armor, because the coin was going several times the speed of sound, creating a lot of kinetic energy." I explain in detail.
My words looked a little lost on him. I blush, realizing not everyone knows these terms. "I'll just say you used magic generated magnets to launch a coin…"
"Do you know what happened to Victor?" I ask curiously, despite the name leaving a bad taste on my tongue.
"Didn't anyone tell you?" At my curious expression, he explained. "We found charred human remains among the wreckage of the machine…" He trails off, letting me piece together the truth.
I killed him.
I go silent, trying to process this information. I never thought I would kill someone… I don't know how to feel about this… I… I don't feel anything… Is that normal?
"I… don't know how to feel about that information… A small part of me feels horrified that I… uh... took someone's life…" I swallow hard. "But for the most part, I feel nothing… Like I don't care that I took Victor's life… I think it was because it was justified…" I look him straight in the eyes, my concern growing. I didn't know if I was a monster, or if this is normal. "Is this normal… Or am I just a psychopath?"
He looks awkward, like he doesn't know how to deal with this situation, but his features harden. "I believe… I believe you are just fine. That madman was going to kill a lot of people, and acting in self-defense was justified. I think that is why you don't feel much remorse, because he was going to kill you and many innocent people if you didn't stop him." He closes his eyes and sighs, before opening them again. "So do not fret on this issue, as it will only slow you down and inhibit your growth." His reassurance clears any doubt of my morality, and I feel a smile form on my face.
He then turns and starts walking towards the door, before stopping as he was about to turn the handle. "Oh, and one more thing... the council has decided to grant you 1,00,000 Jewels as compensation for cleaning up something that we should have spotted sooner."
His statement causes me to choke, and I can hear him chuckle a little as he walks out of the room.
1,000,000 Jewels! That is enough to pay off my rent and still have enough left for me to do stuff! I just got S-class pay! It's too bad that I can't move from this bed for a while… and I won't be able to move at 100% for a few months…
…I'm bored…
I look to the small table that was beside my bed and notice there was a letter. I guess someone put it there when I was sleeping and didn't notice until now.
I grab the letter and open it up. Inside was a photograph, and I take it out to examine it. The picture was of the residents of Lavender Town, with the Mayor Standing shirtless next to a woman with short red hair that looked extremely creeped out, and had a face of disgust. That must be his neighbor he was talking about, I felt sympathy for my fellow red head… I notice the attractive Innkeeper lady was there with a bright, gorgeous smile and also notice the boy who asked me out, and I blush a little at the memory. I also spotted Father Mendez, who was standing next a blonde teenage girl that was holding his hand. That must be his niece. Above them was a banner that read 'Thank You Rubina Crimson' in bold red letters. But the most significant thing was a statue of a girl holding a sword outstretched, and a fierce expression. It was a statue of me. I never had a monument named after me before…
Is this what is like to be Naruto? Will I get a bridge named after me?
I blush once more, and I feel extremely flattered that the Mayor would do something like that.
…He's still a weirdo, though…
Ok, before you grumble about her beating a machine that took three dragon slayers to defeat, let me say some things. First: this version of Dorma Anim is more primitive, which Rubi noted, this is because it was built in Earthland, rather than Edolas, so the tech is not advanced when it comes to dragon robots. Two: She got her ass kicked, and only won by a last ditch, hail Mary attempt that almost killed her with magic exhaustion. Three: The coin idea, for those who didn't know where I got that idea, was from "A Certain Scientific Railgun", but instead of launching a lightweight arcade token at mach 3 (which does less damage than a 50. cal bullet), she shot a much heavier cast iron coin at at least mach 7 (which is what a real rail gun can shoot a 10kg projectile at), so it has quite the penetrative power.
Rubi got really messed up in this chapter, and almost died. She wasn't going to face an advanced machine at age 12 and not come out with minor scratches.
For my readers who have seen Full Metal Alchemist, you can definitively tell who the mayor takes after XD. Rubi's idol turned out to be a crazy revolutionary that wanted to cause anarchy. At least she got his book...
Araña is definitely smarter than she lets on, and Victor is just as crazy as his ancestor. It's too bad he played with his opponent and that let Rubi come up with a plan to stop him.
As for Rubi's first kill, I hope I got the reaction realistic. She won't make a habit of killing people, and the reason why she wasn't completely mortified by it was because she had no other choice, and she felt like he deserved to die. If the circumstances were different, she would be having a serious moral crises.
Lahar makes an appearance and Rubi gets recognition from the council! I'll let you figure out the implications of that...
This chapter's fight scene is 2.6k words long. It took forever to write.