Chapter Twelve : Hounds

Mira's P.O.V. -

Hikari kept Levy's eyes closed until we were a good distance away from the area. Finally, she removed her hands.

"What happened?" Levy asked.

Nakina and Erza were facing opposite directions. None of them spoke.

"Umm," I thought of a way around the details. "She got away, but we were able to find out a little more about her magic."

"What'd you find out?" she pushed for answers.

Hikari smiled, "How about we-"

The earth shook. Each rumble was louder than the previous, something was coming towards us.

"What is that?" I whispered.

Erza equipped a sword and pointed it towards one of the shops, "Levy go into the store."

"No! I'm not useless just because I have a kid now," Levy complained. "You said to leave if there is serious danger threatening my life. Nothing happened."

"Fine," Erza sighed. "But I'm not underestimating you. I just…"

I looked at Erza sadly. I felt that there was another reason behind her words.

"Mothers play a huge role in their child's life," Erza finally finished. "And if there is ever a chance I think that something could stop you from going back to Mave-"

"Erza," Levy smiled. "I would never let anything stop me from going back to Mave. If it makes you feel better, I'll stay right next to you."

"Levy-san can stay with me," Hikari volunteered. "Even if I can't use as much dark magic as Nakina, I still have enough to protect Levy-san!"

"I think that's a good idea Erza," I agreed with their plan. "I think that it's good Levy can go out on missions like this."
"Hikari," Nakina walked up to her and touched her shoulder. "With the authority empowered to me, I hereby allow you to release your dark magic if either you or Levy-san are in danger."

"Very well," Erza gave in. "But keep in mind that your main priority is to protect Levy. Nothing else."

I nodded. If it ever came down to it, Hikari should be able to fight without worrying about the opponent's life. But, this is the first time a Fairy Tail member has ever said it. Something inside of me churned uncomfortably, thinking about what was going on in Erza's mind.

Erza's P.O.V -

Kill them.

Who?

Anyone you want to.

I'm no killer.

Yes you are...you just don't know it. Not yet at least.

Quiet.

You'll see.

"Erza?" Mira waved her hands before my face.

I finally snapped out of it, "Yes?"

She transformed into Sitri, "Let's get em."

I smirked and equipped a long sword. I was relieved that my magic came back to me. Finally, we saw the beast. It was a huge figure running on all fours. It was as tall as the surrounding buildings with teeth bigger than the doors. The monster before us was a hound. For a moment, it just stared at us. The dog opened its mouth and a robotic voice began to speak.

"OUTPUTTING INFORMATION : SUBJECT LUCY → CAPTURED. LOCATION → MAIN TOWER AT THE CENTER OF THE TOWN,"

I hissed at the voice, "Give her back!"

"I'll rip you apart if you do anything to her," Mira took a few steps forward, her hand outstretched.

The dog began to run towards us. Mira sent a huge blast of magic at the dog, sending it flying backwards. As the fog lifted, we saw two smaller hounds.

"Fragmentation," a lazy low voice. "Careful though. After three hours they'll both be full sized."

"Who are you!" Nakina glared at one of the roofs where a small figure was seen.

He chuckled, "Z3. I fought with your little dragon and...what was her name...Lucky? No no...Lucy!"

Z3 had a hole in his chest where his heart should've been. He held a small briefcase and looked at us lazily.

"She's a fun girl...maybe I'll have some fun with her later," he licked his lips.

Mira sent another blast at him, her eyes burning with anger, "You dirty little-"

"I'm not here to fight," Z3 had his arm out, blocking the blast. His arm fell off from the attack, but there was no blood. He didn't even seem fazed.

"Then why're you here?" Nakina said.

"I heard about your magic," he pointed at Nakina. "Able to face XYZ head on! I'm impressed. I've never seen someone able to kill those babies with such ease. I applaud you."

I turned towards Levy, who had tears in her eyes. Hikari stood between Levy and Z3, blocking her. She frantically tried speaking to Levy, but she didn't listen.

"Babies?" Levy pushed Hikari aside and walked towards Z3.

"Oh? You didn't know? XYZ uses the bodies of babies and turn them into dolls. The dolls that Nakina so brutally murdered? Those were actually children. And she knew that," he smiled. "My my...secrets? Not so good, is it?"

I glared at him, "Come down and face us like a proper mage!"

"I don't need to prove anything to you. I'm quite busy right now, but maybe some other time. I think you already have a lot to deal with," he turned away and disappeared.

Levy turned and faced Nakina.

"Tell me the truth," she whispered. "Tell me that he's lying."

"It was you or them. I simply chose you," Nakina sighed. "I can't say he's lying while also telling you the truth."
"How could you kill children!" Levy began to sob and scream.

Hikari reached for Levy, who slapped her hand away, "Did you help her?"

Hikari froze, "Lev-"

"DID YOU HELP HER!" Levy yelled.

"HEY!" Nakina shouted at Levy. "Back off of her."

"Or else what? You'll slaughter me like you did those kids?" Levy laughed.

Nakina unsheathed her sword and pointed it towards Levy, "Only if you hurt Hikari."

Mira ran in front of Nakina and pushed her sword down, "No."

"Did any of you try to stop her?" Levy asked quietly. "Anyone?"

"They all did," Nakina answered. "All of them were against my decision but I doubt anyone regrets my decision. If we went back to that moment, anyone would've-"

"Show me," Levy growled at her. "Show me what happened!"

After recovering from the blow, the hounds began to rise again.

"I know you can show me everything before those dogs take one step towards us. So do it."

I knew that was true. Nakina could show us the events of thirty minutes in a second.

"I SAID SHOW-" Levy wasn't able to finish because all of us were transported back to the battle with XYZ.

We saw ourselves fighting, pleading, screaming. Then, Nakina killed the first doll. Levy sunk down to her knees when she saw it transform into a child.

Nakina stood over the mangled body, unfazed. She simply yanked out her sword and flicked off some of the blood. She looked up at the woman.

"Your magic spell is broken now. Give up,"

XYZ chuckled creepily, "Oh?"

She pulled out five more dolls, "Are you willing to kill five more children for the sake of your teammate? If you can kill them all, then I'll leave you and your friend. Well...they are just the body's of dead babies, but still. That would take a certain type of evil for someone to be able to do this."

"Very well," she walked over to the woman.

Before we could make it, Nakina had already sliced her blade through all of their necks.

Everything froze before us.

"Satisfied now that you know the truth?" Nakina walked before Levy.

Levy didn't move for a moment. She just stared at the screen. Suddenly, she burst out screaming and attacking Nakina, but none of her hits touched Nakina. They merely passed through her.

"You can't hurt Nakina in her own mind," Hikari whispered. "Don't waste your energy Levy-san."

"I DON'T CARE!" Levy screamed hysterically while pounding at the air.

Nakina bent down onto her knees, "If you wish to seek some closure through me, then fine."

The next punch hit Nakina, but she did not fall over. Her face had a scratch now. We tried to intervene, but Nakina trapped us inside of a glass container. Levy continued to hit her while crying, leaving marks all over Nakina. Blood trickled from her nose and lip, but she didn't seem fazed. Finally, Levy calmed down.

"Finished?" Nakina asked.

We were transported back to reality. I looked at Nakina and was shocked. All the wounds were visible and bleeding, just like in Nakina's mind. I didn't know physical injuries were transported back to reality.

"How-" Mira began to ask.

"It's up to me whether or not injuries in my mind carry over to the physical," Nakina responded.

"We need to go!" I shouted as the dogs ran towards us. "Don't attack, it'll just be more work for us later!"

"I'm not going anywhere with you," Levy said to Nakina.

The animals began closing the space. We were at a crossway.

"Fine! Levy, Mira, and Hikari go that way. I'll go this way with Nakina. Mira, you're in charge!" I ordered.

"Alright! Let's meet at the designated area as soon as we can!" Mira nodded.

I smiled weakly, "See you there."

"See you there."

And with that, we made a silent promise. A promise that we would all see one another again.

Or at least, we hoped.