Chapter 12 – Adryn's Gone
After Adryn and Nova disappeared from sight, the group around Laxus and the Thunder Legion scattered. None of them were able to catch someone to make them tell them where Adryn was being taken. Laxus could obviously smell where Adryn had gone but Freed stopped him from following after her scent.
"Laxus, we should head to an inn first. We need to make a plan of attack, or else we might end up getting Adryn hurt while we try to save her." Freed informed the dragon slayer, who reluctantly agreed with him. The 4 of them then headed to an inn and got one big room like last time. They chose what beds they were going to sleep on, and then began to discuss what they were going to do.
"I say we just go in and get her," Laxus stated from his bed near the window. "I can follow her scent. I'll know where she is."
"I think that would be a bad idea, Laxus. Like I said before, we don't know what would happen and we might hurt Adryn in the process." Freed instantly refused his leader's suggestion.
"We should go back to the guild and get more people to outnumber them." Evergreen suggested from her bed by the door.
"We should wait and gather information about them and the situation that Adryn is in before we do anything. We cannot risk hurting her in the process of saving her. She wouldn't want us to risk ourselves either." Freed was very definite with his tone. He didn't want them to argue with him.
"I agree with Freed. We need to be careful with this." Bickslow stated with his babies echoing, "Careful! Careful!"
"I agree as well," Evergreen stated as she looked to Laxus. The man sighed before nodding his head.
"Alright. Let's go with what Freed says." Laxus was clearly not happy about that at all. Laxus was just getting angrier by the second until he couldn't hold it in any longer. "I can't believe that Adryn left us like that. I can't protect her if she isn't by my side. I swore I'd protect her, what if something happens to her while we aren't there?" At first, the Thunder Legion wasn't sure what to say to Laxus and they weren't sure if the man wanted them to even say anything. However, Freed finally found his voice and spoke up.
"She chose to leave your side, Laxus. It isn't your fault if anything happens to her. Besides, she's strong and can protect herself." Freed stated to his friend, who just shot him a glare and got up from the bed he was sitting on. "Where are you going?" They watched as Laxus stomped over to the door.
"Out," Was all Laxus responded as he left and slammed the door behind him. He made his way out of the inn and began to just wander around the city. He was trying to avoid heading to where Adryn was since he already agreed to not go after her yet. Even the walk couldn't get his mind right, so he was still angry when someone stepped into his path causing him to stop and glare at them. They were in the shadows but then stepped fully out into the light, causing Laxus to growl at them.
"Hey there, Laxus. How are you feeling?" It was Nova standing in front of Laxus. She had a smug smile on her face, which served to piss Laxus off further along with her words.
"I'm pissed off and I want my girlfriend back!" Laxus snapped at the girl, who chuckled in return.
"I'm sorry, but Adryn was mine first, though I never wanted her. I have big plans for her and you better not get your hopes up that you'll ever see the girl you know again. Once I'm through with her, she won't be the same person." That infuriated Laxus further, and he moved to step closer to her but found he was frozen in place. "Sorry about this, but I can't let you attack me just yet." Nova then smiled at him and spoke to him telepathically. 'Adryn will never be your again.' With that, Nova turned around and walked off. As soon as she turned a corner, Laxus was able to move and he ran after her, only to find her gone now with no trace at all left behind.
"The fuck?" Laxus grumbled in confusion. He wasn't sure what just happened, but he figured that she must have teleported away, or had someone teleport her away for her. So, with worry and more anger in him than before, Laxus returned to the inn.
"How was your walk?" Freed asked once Laxus was in the room and headed to his bed.
"Not all that great." Laxus then informed them of what Nova had said to him, causing everyone to now feel worried.
"That is... concerning," Freed admitted though he then sighed. "However, it's late, and we should get to bed or else we'll be too tired to do any fighting in the morning."
"Do you not care about Adryn? What if she is in danger?" Laxus snapped at his friend. Freed was shocked for a moment but then shook his head.
"Of course I care about her, she's my friend. Even so, we need to keep ourselves safe by getting proper rest or else we'll be useless to her when she needs us the most." Laxus wanted to argue more but found that Freed's words made sense.
"Fine," Laxus grumbled as he gathered his stuff for bed. He got ready first, followed by the others. Once they were all in bed, Laxus found that he was exhausted and fell asleep right away, despite his worry over his girlfriend.
~
The next day, Adryn woke up under the covers of the bed she was laying on. She didn't remember putting herself under them, so she was quite confused. She was also a bit shocked that she slept the night away and into the next morning. Once she got up from bed, she noticed that the runes around her room were gone, meaning that she could probably escape now. However, as she was walking to the window, Nova entered the room.
"Trying to escape?" Nova asked simply with a smirk on her face.
"No, just trying to see how early it was." Adryn lied instantly, even though Nova clearly knew what she was doing.
"I see... Well, it's early enough for breakfast, so come with me and we'll get something to eat." Adryn nodded her head and followed Nova as she guided her to the kitchen. Adryn sat down at the table and Nova sat across from her. Some man came over to them with their plates of food. It was just normal breakfast food, nothing too special. "So, how did you sleep?"
"I slept just fine. A little too fine for the situation that I'm in." Adryn responded as she took a bite of her food. She decided that it tasted good enough so she continued to eat. Nova did the same before pausing to smile at Adryn.
"So, I ran into Laxus last night while you were asleep. He looked quite angry with me." Nova chuckled at the last part, causing Adryn to frown.
"I miss him, and the others, but him the most." Adryn then took a sip of her water as Nova creepily smiled at her.
"Do you want to forget about Laxus and the others?"
"What?! Why the fuck would I want to forget about them?! I love Laxus!" Adryn stood up out of anger but found that she was slightly wobbly.
"Don't worry, Adryn, you will forget about them all. No matter what." That caused Adryn's stomach to turn as the world around her began to spiral.
What did you do to me?" Adryn braced herself on the table but soon found her arms couldn't hold her up causing her to collapse to the ground. Nova just smiled down at her, making Adryn realize how stupid she'd been. Her food or drink must have been spiked with something. However, it was too late to know that, as Adryn blacked out on the floor making the last thing she saw was Nova's smiling face.
~
The moment Adryn blacked out, Laxus and the others were eating their own breakfast. However, Laxus froze and got a terrible feeling in his stomach. A cold chill ran through him, alerting him that something was terribly wrong with Adryn.
"Something is wrong," Laxus stated to his friends.
"What do you mean?"
"Something must have happened with Adryn. We need to leave now." Laxus stood up from his seat and threw his coat over his shoulders. The others followed suit as Freed hurried off to pay for their food. He caught up with the others as Laxus began his trek through town. He could still smell Adryn's trail, but he could also smell Nova now. They were on the opposite of town, and it took a few minutes to get there. However, once they got to the little home, Nova was standing outside of it with a huge smile on her face.
"I've been expecting you 4. welcome to my current home." Nova smugly said to the group.
"Where is Adryn!?" Laxus was instantly furious at the girl.
"Now, now. If Adryn so chooses to return to you, she can. I am no longer holding her captive."
"Of course she'll want to return to us. She's part of Fairy Tail, she's our friend and family. She is returning with us!" Evergreen stated angrily but Nova just smiled and shrugged her shoulders. She then turned around and walked into the home. The 4 of them instantly followed her, ignoring the bloody entrance of the house. As they enter the home, they realize that Nova is in the living room. So that's where they go, only to find Nova standing across the room from Adryn who was just casually sitting on the couch.
"Adryn!" Laxus was about to rush to her side when Freed stopped him.
"Something is wrong with her. Look at her." Freed stated as he stared at the redhead. She was different looking. Her clothes were all wrong. She was wearing tight black pants, which they'd never seen her in before and a simple black tank top. For once, she didn't have her cape on her. However, that wasn't what Freed was referring to. He was staring right at her left arm. Where the Fairy Tail guild mark was just about her left wrist, something looked off with it.
"Is... is that the Raven Tail guild mark on the Fairy Tail guild mark?!" Evergreen was horrified and unsure if she was seeing this correctly.
"It's like she's been branded," Freed responded, confirming Evergreen's worries.
"That's not okay," Bickslow muttered with his babies remaining silent in the serious situation.
"What the fuck is that?! Why does she have that mark on her?!" Laxus just about exploded on Nova, but she just held her finger up to her lips in a shushing motion.
"Don't yell. You'll upset my dear, Arcadia." Nova was clearly referring Adryn as a different name, which instantly worried the 4 friends.
"Arcadia?" Freed questions as he tries to remain calm.
"Adryn is no more. She is now Arcadia. She is mine, body, and soul."
"Brainwashing can't take someone over completely, not like that."
"Oh, but it isn't brainwashing. Adryn has been killed and reborn as Arcadia. She is now someone who wholly adores me and would do anything for me. You are free to try to 'snap her out of it', but it won't work." Nova was smug and it infuriated Freed and the others. While Laxus was seemingly in shock.
"Adryn," Freed stated as he approached the girl. She just looked up at him with confusion in her eyes. She then looked to Nova who nodded her head. She then looked back to Freed. "It's time for you to wake up and return to Laxus' side before it is too late." Nothing was the girl's response.
"Come on Adryn, you belong to Laxus, not some psycho girl. You can't be Arcadia because of that!" Evergreen cried out to her friend, who in return just looked at her like she was insane.
"You need to snap out of this, Adryn. You need to return to Fairy Tail with us." Bickslow stated with his babies repeating "With us." twice. The Thunder Legion then moved aside for Laxus to approach the redhead. She just looked up at Laxus with a blank expression. It was something that just caused Laxus to frown at her.
"You swore that you would never leave me again. You are breaking that promise by becoming Arcadia." Laxus simply spoke to the girl.
"Does it seem like I care?" The girl now known at Arcadia responded. Hearing that made Laxus feel like his heart had been torn.
"You will always have a place by my side after you snap out of whatever is controlling you, but for now, I can't stand to see you like this as someone I don't know." Laxus' tone was more emotional than usual. He looked Arcadia in the eyes as he spoke next. "I hope I will see you again, Adryn. Goodbye." With that, he turned around and left the house, with the Thunder Legion following after him. None of them noticed the tears that fell from Arcadia's eyes.
"Why are you crying?!" Nova growled at the girl as she approached her and violently wiped the tears away from Arcadia's eyes.
"I... I don't know. It just... feels like something broke inside of me." Arcadia seemed like she was almost as upset about the tears as Nova was. However, the lilac-haired girl knew that she needed to change the subject and get Arcadia's mind off of Laxus and the Thunder Legion.
"Whatever, let's get going." Nova pulled Arcadia to her feet and shoved her towards the door.
"Where are we going?"
"To the Magic Council headquarters. We have a jailbird to visit."
"Are we going to kill anyone?" Arcadia almost seemed hopeful at the idea of killing someone.
"Maybe, if anyone gets in our way, but no. I want to psychologically break my sister." With that, the two girls began their long journey to their destination.
~
A day later, Laxus and the Thunder Legion have made their way home. They reached Magnolia quite quickly and immediately headed to the guildhall to explain to everyone what had happened to Adryn.
"Hello guys, how was your... Wait, where's Adryn?" Mirajane asked as she approached the 4 of them. "Is she coming later?"
"No. She's gone." Freed explained, and then seeing the horror on Mirajane's face, he continued. "She's still alive, but... it's complicated."
"I'll go get Master and then you can explain what happened." Mirajane then hurried off and returned a few moments later with Master Makarov in tow.
"What is going on?" He demanded instantly. He could see on their faces that something bad had happened. Freed explained the whole situation to them and whoever else was listening in on their conversation. He told them that Adryn had gone with her former lover, who was somehow alive and was working for the now deceased Ivan, to protect them. The next day, they hurried over to where she was being kept, only to find that Adryn was now Arcadia. Freed finished by saying that Nova didn't specify how Adryn was now Arcadia, but that it was clear that the girl they knew was gone now.
"That's terrible!" Mirajane gasped out after Freed finished telling the explanation.
"We need to get my child back!" Master Makarov growled angrily.
"She is no longer a member of Fairy Tail," Laxus grumbled as he walked to the bar.
"What does he mean?"
"Over Adryn's Fairy Tail guild mark, there is a Raven Tail brand burned into her skin," Freed explained as he watched Laxus order a drink as he sat at the bar.
"How dare they do this to one of my children!" Master Makarov was clearly furious, and contrary to that, Laxus was not. Laxus was acting like he had no hope at all and that everything that was done, was going to stay like that. So, worried about his friend, Freed made his way to Laxus who was drinking like there was no tomorrow. The rest of that day, Freed, Bickslow and Evergreen watched as Laxus drank himself nearly to death. Once night fell and Freed offered to guide Laxus home, well more like helped him stumble home, Freed had enough.
"Laxus, this is enough. We are going to get Adryn back! We will, there is hope, as long as we don't give up!" Freed was trying to be uplifting, but the drunk man just shook his head. Laxus was laying on the couch in his living room, while Freed stood in front of him.
"She doesn't want to come back. If she did, she would have stayed by my side and never went with that bitch that day."
"You can't give up hope, Laxus! You can't give up on Adryn!"
"She's 'Arcadia' now!" Laxus growled as he shakily sat up to glare at Freed. "Get out if you're just going to bitch on and on about bullshit!"
"I refuse to get out until I-"
"Get the fuck out!" Laxus roared at the man causing Freed to flinch and take a step backward. Shocked and worried for his friend, Freed turned and left Laxus to himself. However, Freed hurried off to the other members of the Thunder Legion and informed them of what had just transpired.
"I am worried that losing Adryn has caused his old personality to return. I fear what Laxus could do to himself and others now that she is gone." Freed spoke to Evergreen and Bickslow who just nodded their heads. "How can we get him back to how he should be?"
"Let's have him cool off for tonight and sober up, then go to him tomorrow," Evergreen stated after a moment of thought. Freed nodded his head and looked to Bickslow who hadn't said much recently. "You good?" Evergreen asked her friend who just looked between Freed and Evergreen.
"It's just that... Adryn's soul seemed to be different now. I'm just worried that there is no saving her." Bickslow muttered after a moment with his babies not saying anything in return.
"We have to try." Freed immediately responded causing Bickslow to nod his head in agreement. So, with them agreeing on their plans, the 3 split up and headed to their homes for the night, just to meet again in the morning at Laxus' apartment.
~
The next day, Laxus awoke to knocking on his door. The next thing he knew, he had searing pain flow through his head.
"Fuck," Laxus muttered to himself as he got up and opened the door. He didn't remember much of the day and night before, as he was so drunk but he did mostly remember that he and Freed got into it over Adryn. "Hey, guys," Laxus stated once he saw who was at the door. It was the Thunder Legion.
"May we come in?" Freed properly questioned causing Laxus to frown.
"Sure." Laxus then made his way into his kitchen and grabbed a bottle of alcohol and began to drink. He figured that since he already felt like shit, he may as well be drunk and feel like shit. It made sense to him.
"We need to save Adryn, no matter what." Evergreen began as Laxus turned to face the 3 of them.
"She would never have willingly become a puppet for Nova, no matter what, due to her love for you." Bickslow continued for the girl. Before Freed could speak, Laxus put up a hand to stop them.
"If this is what we're going to talk about, then you all can get out," Laxus grumbled as he took another drink of his alcohol.
"Enough, Laxus!" Freed yelled, causing everyone in the room to be shocked and look at the green-haired man. "We need to save Adryn! She loves you and swore to never leave you, right? So, of course, she wouldn't have left you and become someone else willingly! She would never want to be part of Raven Tail again, you know that!" Freed then continued before Laxus could get a word in. "Besides, Adryn already said she doesn't love Nova like that. She is in love with you. If you don't come with us to save Adryn, the Thunder Legion will never forgive you!" Freed got ready to continue talking, but Laxus sighed and nodded his head, setting his alcohol down.
"Alright. You're right. I'm... I'm sorry." Laxus muttered quietly but was heard by the other 3 people. "Let me get cleaned up, and we'll go."
After Laxus got his shit together and the others got ready as well, they made their way to the train station and got aboard a train to take them back to the last place they saw Adryn. It only took a day, but they got there quite late. Despite that, they made their way to the house only to find it empty. As they leave the home, they are surrounded by a few men.
"We can't let you get any further. You may not follow our master and her lover." One of the men spoke to the 4 of them, causing Laxus to get angry. He easily took out the few men and kept one of them awake long enough to yell at him.
"Where did Nova take Adryn!?" Laxus yelled at the nearly unconscious man. He could see the anger in Laxus' eyes, so he instantly began to blab on about where they were.
"They are heading
to the jail where Eclipse is to mentally scar her!" The now scared man cried out. Laxus then let the man fall to the ground as he turned and headed for the train station.
"We need to go now. It'll take a little bit to get there." Laxus stated as the Thunder Legion hurried after him. Thankfully, one train that was headed towards the jail was still running. So they got on it, and began their journey, hoping that they wouldn't be too late.
~
Meanwhile, Nova and Arcadia reached the Magic Council headquarters where Eclipse was being held. As they made their way to Eclipse's jail cell, Nova ordered Arcadia to take out the guards, but not kill them, yet. About 20 people later, Nova and Arcadia were standing in front of Eclipse's cell. She had her back to them, so she didn't know who was standing at her cell.
"What is it this time? I swear, you people just won't leave me alone." Eclipse muttered as she turned around, only to gasp out in a mix of shock and horror. "What... Am I hallucinating?" Eclipse was staring right at Nova.
"This is no hallucination, my older sister. I am really here." Nova responded with a smirk. "Open the cell." Nova then commanded Arcadia. Arcadia did as she was told and broke into the cell using her lightning.
"What's going on? Adryn, why are you with my sister? Plus, how are you alive?! I killed you!" Eclipse stood up and walked backward away from the two women who were now entering her cell.
"Why should we explain anything to a soon-to-be-dead person?" Nova chuckled at the horrified look on Eclipse's face.
"Dead? Adryn wouldn't even hurt me."
"She isn't Adryn any longer. Her new name is Arcadia."
"What are you talking about?!"
"Arcadia is now my follower. Don't worry, I'm not mind-controlling her. Instead, I have taken over her complete body and soul. There is no way to reverse this."
"How dare you do that to Adryn! She isn't some puppet for you to play with!" Eclipse moved to lunge at Nova, only for Arcadia to step in front of Nova with her eyes glowing. Instantly, Eclipse was on the ground crying out in pain. "Wake up... Adryn... please!" Eclipse begged but the redhead just looked at her with disgust.
"Be silent and die!" Nova laughed out loud causing more than just pain to go through Eclipse's body. After a couple of minutes of pain, the world around Eclipse began to darken. However, just before she passed out, Arcadia stopped her magic.
"Adryn?" Eclipse coughed out as she looked up at her best friend. However, Nova just stepped in front of her and smiled down at her sister.
"Don't worry, I wouldn't actually have my precious sister killed. Instead, I just wanted to show Arcadia off and tell everyone that she is, indeed, my puppet."
"Release Adryn from your hold!"
"Just stop, Eclipse. I'm happy the way I am now. I feel better than I ever have. I don't want to become Adryn again." Arcadia spoke up as she looked down at her former best friend.
"What about Laxus? Don't you love him?!"
"He is irrelevant to me now." Arcadia harshly responded as she glared at Eclipse for mentioning Laxus. "Besides, he's just confused by his feelings. He doesn't actually care about me like he thinks he does."
"No, Adryn, you are the one confused and you will regret everything that you've done and probably will do from here on out. You need to wake up before you do something that you can never truly come back from." Eclipse sounded more disappointed than anything now.
"Shut up!" Adryn then collected her lightning to her fist and punched Eclipse before the pink-haired girl could move out of the way. Eclipse's head hit the ground with so much force that it caused her to blackout. "Regret? The only thing I regret is ever being around Laxus and the others in the first place. Those were the worst times of my life so far."
"I'm glad you think that way, but you know she can't hear you, right?" Nova mentioned from behind the redhead.
"Y-Yeah, I know that!" Arcadia snapped back, clearly embarrassed.
"Anyway, let's head out now. We accomplished what I wanted." As Nova and Arcadia began to leave the room they were in, they were confronted with the now conscious guards once more. "Kill them this time, Arcadia. Leave no survivors." Arcadia didn't move, however, and just looked to the floor. "What is it?"
"I can't kill them. Something just doesn't feel right." Arcadia then attacked them one by one, knocking them back out. She then returned to Nova's side and instantly was punched to the ground. "W-What?"
"You are pathetic! You can't do a simple task that I tell you to do! You are a disappointment!" Nova screamed at the redhead who was now holding her wounded cheek. "Let's go."
"Alright," Arcadia muttered as she stood back up and followed after Nova. The two girls headed to a nearby town to stay at an inn for a bit. Nova decided that they "needed to relax", but that was just a cover story. While Nova was making their food, she spiked Arcadia's drink and food more so than before.
"With this, you will lose all your memories from your past and will become mine, body mind and soul. You won't remember any of your previous values or feelings. Instead, you'll only feel what I tell you to feel!" Nova chuckled to herself low enough that Arcadia, who was reading, could not hear her. As they ate together, Arcadia had no idea that she was eating anything bad, until she became extremely dizzy and fell from her chair onto the ground once again. She was out cold before she ever even knew it. The only thing she remembered hearing, was Nova's laughter as she slipped into the blackness.