Oh boy, almost a month. Better, but still needs work.
Anyway, here is the next true chapter of Alternate Tail, Rewrite the World Arc. I hope you're excited~
I want to thank bahall1964, summer490, Redder45, Shiranai Atsune, The Legendary Dragon Reaper, and Warmachine375 for favoriting and following Alternate Tail. I also want to thank Fin-Fish Jun-Tenshi, Ray Akaba 210, 13, OneWhoCharms, and ligersrcool for their encouraging reviews after I got back.
And finally, I do not own Fairy Tail, I just love messing around with it. Nishishishi!
Mcgarden Manor
"Oh, hey master," Max said casually. "How did it go?"
"I should be asking you that," Makarov said sternly. "Now what happened?"
Mira sighed "Long story short, we were just attacked by Levy's relatives."
"... I'm going to need more than that, Mira."
"So let me get this straight," Makarov said an hour after in the guild. "A group called Clan Garten came to capture Freed and Levy. They claimed that Levy's grandfather was once one of their own. All of them not only used some form of Letter Magic but also summoned automatons. And they were after Levy, Freed, and Gildarts for some sort of object."
"...yeah, that's exactly it," Mira replied, now changed into her regular clothes.
"I'm gone for 3 hours and this happens," he muttered, before returning his gaze to his children. "At least all of you are okay, for the most part."
"Still, we don't even know why they came," Mira replied bitterly. Many of the other wizards also had equally bitter expressions.
But worse of all were Levy and Freed. Both of them were completely still, stewing over the previous battle. Not much could break them out of their trance.
"Hey, hey," not even Bickslow's insistent poking into Freed's ribs. "man, ya gonna say something?"
His fingers were then slapped off the other man's chest by a fan. "Would you quit that?" Evergreen reprimanded. "That's not going to bring him back."
"Well, I don't see you trying anything!"
"Morons," Gajeel muttered under his breath, before turning to Levy. "Those nutjobs got to him, huh."
"They're wrong," he blinked when Levy suddenly spoke. "They're wrong about him."
"Joseph Mcgarden, the traitor of our people"
"Believe what you want, girl. He abandoned our clan for measly outsiders."
"Despite your grandfather's desertion… foolhardy of us to have you suffer for his crimes"
"What about them? They're just a company, right? Isn't a real family worth it?"
"They're wrong about grandfather," she gripped on the end of her dress as she spoke with anger. "He's not some criminal! He must have had a reason for what he did!"
"Agreed," Freed spoke up, his voice pierced through the room. "Mcgarden-san was an honorable man. The only reason he would have left those scoundrels if they were dishonorable first. And the evidence is clear with how they targeted innocents just because of their connection to him."
"What were they even after in the first place?" Cana asked. "They attacked us, ransack a home, and put so many people in a coma. Why go through all this?"
"When that Mercator man held me hostage, he asked if I had an artifact that once belonged to them, last reported in my teacher's hands," he stroked his chin. "In that case, if we knew what they were looking for…"
"Then we can stop them from their plan!" Levy finished.
"Hold on," Mira spoke up. "We don't even know what their plan is."
"We do know that all of Joseph Mcgarden's legacies are being targeted," Makarov added. "Those still conscious will require protection or at least a warning."
"If those Garten fellows could find them, so can we," Macao said. "I know a few contacts that could get a trail started."
"We'll also have to look back at old reports, to identify who is left," Freed added. "Still, it wouldn't hurt to know what exactly they're after…"
"The one person who would completely know that was Grandfather," Levy said. "And if he left something behind, it'll be at his lair."
"His lair?" Kagura asked a hint of fear in her shivering voice.
Levy sheepishly smiled. "Just a name he called it. It's was his private study, really."
"If you're going, then I'm coming with," Gajeel spoke up before smirking. "You can use some backup if those clan bastards show up."
"Don't even bother arguing," Mira added. "We're all in this together."
The Letter Mage grinned back. "Wouldn't even dream of it."
"It would be nice to visit your hometown without fearing a forced marriage," Lily said with a bit of fondness.
"Forced marriage?" Carla inquired, raising an eyebrow. "Just what sort of shenanigans did you go through?"
"So where is your old home?" Kagura asked.
Levy smiled fondly in memory. "The town of wisdom, Iris."
"So they did not have it?" came the gravelly crone of an old woman.
Mercator, Murray, and Moreau were all kneeling before the throne, where an aged and wrinkled woman sat.
"That is correct, Chieftain," Mercator replied. "We searched in Clive's home but found nothing. And Justine and the traitor's granddaughter had no idea of the artifact. Forgive us for our failure."
The warrior stiffened when his leader raised a single hand, before speaking in a more gentle tone. "There is nothing to forgive, Mercator. That search was a dead end. You've done what you've can. Alexis and Mairi have reported the same findings."
"I see. Thank you moth- Chieftain. Shall we continue hunting down the other legacies for the Gospel's Key?"
"Not yet," the matriarch responded. "I determined another lead, where I sent the two along with Braille to go there."
Murray stiffened with worry. "A-are you sure, Chieftain? Alexis and Mairi I understand, but Braille? She is quite young, quite reckless-"
"And quite skilled," the Chieftain spoke in a matter-of-fact tone. "Which is why I sent the three on this quest. But I know the risk. After all, they are heading into the den of the traitor."
The village of Iris was a relatively small community compared to Magnolia. Small cottages rested on hills of seas of grass. Mothers hung their clothes on a clothesline while children ran underneath laughing through their game. The hooves of big-horned sheep hit the cobbled street as they pulled carts full of food and goods. A pair of young teens chatted as they carried bags of mails to each house. Grizzly old men and women stood by a small pub built into the hillside, talking eagerly with books in their hands.
"Quite a peaceful town," Lily commented as the team watched a pair of twin boys run past them with wooden swords. "Not what I expect for a Wizard Saint."
"It's because it's peaceful that grandfather chose to live here," Levy explained, a large smile on her face while walking through town. "He enjoyed coming back here and talking to everyone here. There's never a stranger in Iris."
"You lived here all your life?" Carla asked.
"Mmhmm. Just me and grandfather."
"What about your parents?" Lily asked.
Levy's smile went somber at that. "Never knew my dad. Apparently, he left after my mom got pregnant. And… she died the day I was born."
Lily eyes widened before turning to the ground. "I, I shouldn't have asked."
"Hey, don't worry," she reassured gently. "I've grown past that a long time ago. Anyway, we're here."
The building the six stopped in front of was a two-story wooden house with a large open porch and a chimney. Oddly enough, there was a massive tree growing through the center of the building.
"Is that even safe to live in," Gajeel asked, raising an eyebrow at the tree that branched out in all directions, seemingly coming out of the roof and having different leaves and flowers on each branch.
Levy only laughed in reply. "Don't worry. That tree was enchanted by grandfather and nurtured by my grandmother years ago. It's perfectly fine as long as the magic hold up." She pulled out a key from her bag and placed it into the doorknob keyhole, before turning and unlocking the door. "Come inside," lead inside by the blue-haired mage, the team found the entranceway had several shelves of dusty books and a couple of chairs to sit in. They stopped at the base of the massive tree at the center of the house, where the thickest roots from the branch left only a door-wide path to the trunk.
"Let me guess," Mira said, eyeing the tree with amusement. "secret entrance?"
Levy only laughed in reply. "Yeah, can't mess with the classics. Now," she placed her palm on the rough brown bark. "What was the keyword… oh right! Crann Bethadh!" Gold runes suddenly appeared all over the tree as a door-sized portion of the bark glowed a pure white before fading, revealing a winding staircase that led underground. "Just follow me down the rabbit hole." She began to descend the stairs with the others following.
'Down the rabbit hole back to before..'
Years Ago
Eight-Year-Old Levy looked in awe at the massive bookshelves filled with hundreds, maybe even thousands of books and text. She looked back at her grandfather, who was busy at his desk looking over tombs given by those council guys (who looked like toads for some reason. Why did working for those councilors make you a toad person?).
She returned to the bookcase, spotting a red leather book spine with gold borders. Her hazel eyes narrowed in determination as she went to the back of the study and carefully dragged a small stool to the shelf, then climbed onto it and stood on her tip-toes, allowing her fingers to barely touch the red book. She let out an impatient groan as she raised herself higher, using her fingers to slowly push the book out the shelf while the shelf shook. As she smiled with the book half-way free, she lost her balance and fell past the edge of the stool.
A high-pitched scream escaped her as she dropped to the floor. But instead of the hardwood floor, she landed on something soft and bouncy. Turning her head around, she saw she was on a fluffy "cloud."
"Now what exactly were you up to," her face went from pale and terrified to red and embarrassed as her grandfather stood above her with mirth on his face.
"Uh…"
Joseph spotted the half-way-out book, before pulling it out completely with one hand and pulling Levy to her dainty feet with the other. "'The Complete Age of Dragons?' Interesting choice. Though what about the books in your room?"
Levy looked to the floor as she played with the hem of her dress. "Ireadthemalll…"
"Come again?" He knelt so he would at eye-level with his granddaughter.
Her face squished before letting out a breath as she looked straight at him. "I read all of them."
To her surprise, her grandfather let out a hearty laugh. "I should have seen this coming. You inherited my gluttony."
The embarrassment had left Levy as frustration takes it place, her cheeks inflated as she glared intimidated at him. "I'm not a glutton grampa! Gluttons eat a lot of food, and I don't eat lots!"
Joseph only smiled at her attempt to be terrifying. "True, that is the standard definition of gluttony," he replied. "But gluttony itself means an undying hunger. Just like me, you read and read because you cannot stop. You enjoy stories and history. That something you got from me."
"Ahhh…." Levy's tiny mouth was left open in awe. "Really, grandpa?"
"Of course," he replied, handing the book to Levy. "But next time you want to get a book from the high shelf, ask me first, okay?"
"Okay!" she answered with a toothful smile, causing him to laugh.
"Hey, Shrimp, wake up!"
Levy was harshly pulled from the past by the back of her dress as Gajeel grabbed her before she could trip on the last steps and crash into the bronze door.
"Geez, you know how easy it is to die like that," Gajeel reprimanded while pulling her back. "No need for a pathetic death."
Levy turned around and pouted. "I don't think a fall like that would kill me."
"Sure." Though his drawled tone show he didn't belief
"Ahem," Mira coughed. "You're still up for the tour."
The Letter Mage snapped back to focus and nodded. "Right here," she announced as she opened the door in front of them, revealing a small private library. The room only had a small chestnut desk worn with age. Just like entranceway, the walls were covered with books coated in cobwebs, save for a single spot at the far back with a portrait of a man with ragged brown hair and hazel eyes wearing a black robe and a woman with wavy blue hair and green eyes with a white gown. Both of them were sitting on a black sofa, while on the woman's lap was a little girl in a red dress with matching hair but hazel eyes.
Levy's teammates stared at the painting, particularly at the young girl "Is that… you?" Kagura asked though doubt seeped in at the end.
Levy shook her head. "That was my mother when she was a kid, about Asuka's age." she turned around and face the rest of the room. "Anyway, let's look around. There has to be something here."
Lily and Carla flew up to investigate the upper shelves. "What exactly are we even looking for?" Carla asked while pulling out a book, sending out dust that left her coughing.
Levy pulled out one of the drawers on the desk, frowning that it was empty. "We're looking for-" she pulled another, only to find the same result. "We're looking for-" when she found the third drawer was stuck, she groaned. "I don't know to be honest."
"Well, that is why we're here in the first place," Mira replied, undeterred as she skimmed through a book.
"Oh man," everyone turned to Gajeel, eyes wide with shock as sweat raced down his neck as he looked down at an open book
"What's wrong, Gajeel-san?" Kagura asked in fright, clenching Archenemy's handle.
"G...g…"
"What did you find?" Levy asked, placing a hand on his shoulder, which was hard with how much it was shaking. Just what could unsettle the mighty dragon slayer?
"G… g… ghi hi hi h!' she flinched once he started bellowing. "Oh man, you have to see this Shrimp!" he showed the open book around. "This whole book is full of signatures from your old man's students. And this one is the old-timer!"
Levy grimaced when she saw the phrase written on the page. "Was Gildarts trying to write his name or an ancient curse?"
"I know! He has such shitty handwriting!"
"Gajeel, could you take this more seriously?" Mira reprimanded. "Besides, it can't be-" she paused when Levy showed her the page. "I know he's the crash mage, but don't tell me he kept breaking the lead when he wrote."
Gajeel just pounded on the bookshelf as he continued laughing "Ghi hi hi!"
Lily shook his head at his partner's antics. "He'll be like that for a while," he muttered, before turning to the portrait. "I wonder…" he flew towards it and unhung it from the wall, revealing a small safe with seven series of number dials.
"I never saw that before," Levy commented as everyone stared at the metal contraption.
"Levy, your birthday is June 8th, right?"
"Yeah, that's right."
"Let's see," Lily began turning the dial. "Zero. Six. Zero. Eight. Seven. Six. Seven." When he finished rotating the last dial, a loud click was opened.
"Nice work there," Mira complemented.
"The stories of Blacksad are quite educational in the mindset of a detective," he replied, opening the locker. But as did so, a small blue orb of lacrima rolled out and hit the floor beneath. It glowed for a few seconds before a deep voice echoed out.
"Levy," the orb spoke, before showing the face of the man in the portrait, but more worn and wrinkled with time.
Levy gasped as she fell on her knees in front of the lacrima and picking it up. "G-grandfather?"
"If you're hearing this," Joseph Mcgarden's voice continued. "then something has happened to take me from this world. Perhaps I made myself too large a target as a Wizard Saint. Perhaps I caught a deadly sickness. Perhaps one of my old enemies stole me from you. But how I died does not matter. For it leaves you with a heavy burden.
"I have taken on the task granted by my ancestor when no one else would. I've taken the role that would change the fate of the world. But now it is your turn… to awaken the warrior goddess Brigid."
Lily's eyes widened. "Brigid?"
"Just like that story," Gajeel blurted out. "I shouldn't be surprised at this point."
"You might recognize the name from the 'Priestess of Celtia.' It was published by my student Reyna Dahl, but I was the one that told hear of it years ago. The story she spoke of is true: about Relbeo, about the Six Kings, and about Brigid.
"To find Brigid, you must use the Gospel's Key. Inside is one of the pieces. For its safety, I've split the Key into four components. When all four are brought back together, it will reveal Brigid's locations."
"I wish I could be there for you, Levy, but it's now up to you. You must find Brigid before- before- before-" the image flickered as the voice crackled before a crack split the lacrima in two.
"Guess that's it," Mira said, before looking at Levy. "You okay?"
"Y-yeah," Levy choked out, holding the broken Lacrima close to her chest. "I'm good."
"He said, 'locations,'" Carla muttered to herself. "Why was it plural?"
Gajeel reached into the safe and pulled out a strange metal shape, It looked like a key split across the flat base hollowed with the key sticking outwards, and was as big as his hand. "This must be one of them."
"Then that's that," Levy spoke up, getting to her feet and gazing at the key. "Grandfather wanted to keep the Key away from Clan Garten before they could get Brigid."
"Well, why would they need Brigid?" Lily asked.
"For something terrible, obviously," Levy responded. "Why else would they make people suffer for it?"
"Xenophobia?" Gajeel grunted, crossing his arms in thought. "Look, all we know is if that kids book was right, this Brigid chick is bad news, especially if it can take down dozen of war gods."
"Well, we don't need the Key or Brigid," Mira said. "All we need to do is hide it where those clan guys won't think of looking."
"Well, let's get going," Levy said, leading the group out of the study and to the stairway.
As the rest followed, Kagura spoke up. "So what are we even going to do with it?"
"Well," Gajeel weighed the key piece in his hand. "They need all four pieces to find Brigid right. So we just hide this key and they don't get Brigid, simple. I vote to throw it in the ocean."
He didn't notice Levy flinched. "Bad idea, one of them uses water magic," Mira argued. "I vote we wait for Lucy to get back and have her dump in the Celestial World. What do you think, Levy?"
"Well… I was thinking we try to find the rest of the keys…" the Letter Mage spoke up.
"Are you sure about that?" Carla questioned. "We know now Clan Garten is after Brigid, and us going on the same quest could easily aid them."
"I know that!" Levy spat out. "But, but Grandfather wanted me to find Brigid-"
"And you want to honor his wish," Lily finished.
"Yeah," Levy frowned as they stepped out of the tree. "Although, I don't even know why he needed her in the first place."
"That is because the traitor was a man blinded by the ghosts of long past!" A rather young voice shouted.
Levy stiffed and thrust out her hand. "Who's there?!"
A slight fiddle melody was heard as the air in front of them glittered before revealing two figures.
The first was a young woman about Levy's height with a short white dress, leather wrist guards, and knee-high boots. She had a fiddle and a bow in each hand, and her long brown hair was tied up like the strands of a thick rope.
The younger figure was a small girl about Kagura's age but half a head shorter. She wore a blue jumpsuit, leather gauntlets and leather boots that reached up to her knees. A pair of opaque-lens goggles covered her eyes, and a rat-nest of dark blue hair was on her head. Grease stains were found all over her skin and jumpsuit and even used to form markings on her cheeks.
"Who are you two?" Lily questioned as he transformed into his battle form.
"Ha ha ha!' the younger girl cackled. "You dare ask for our name, mere Strainraiser man?"
The Exceed blinked in confusion. "Man?"
"For I am Braille the Steel Whisperer," she swipped her hand across the air. "Clan Garten's leader of the Automaton servants. And before me is my dear cousin, Mairi, the Silent Fiddler."
"Wow," Mira let out in amusement. "An actual Chunibyo girl. She might be our enemy but she's kind of cute.
"Why is it we always end up with the crazy ones?" Carla muttered.
The older girl, Mairi, started making hand gestures that Levy quickly recognized. "Sign language, wait," she glared as the collection of letters formed by the other girl's hands. "Clan Garten? You're two are from Clan Garten!"
Braille nodded, though a small vein popped up, while Mairi put the fiddle and started making her bow behind, then started to make a few gestures.
"'You are correct,'" Mira translated, then glared. "So since their elites weren't enough they sent you."
"She said that?!" Braille exclaimed, before turning to "glare" at Mairi. "Cousin! What have I said about using sign language?! You are not permitted to make silent communication when I have no means of understanding!"
Mairi let out an apathetic sigh and shook her head.
"And no making soundless gestures!"
Gajeel raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "Wait a minute, you're blind aren't you?"
Kagura gasped as she turned to the Dragon Slayer in shock. "Gajeel-san, you can't just call someone blind!"
"Especially if it's not true!" Braille proclaimed. "For I am not blind, foolish Strainseir! In truth, the dark power of my evil eyes is sealed away to preserve the fate of my clan! Do not force me to unleash them!"
"... wow, Manners was right, we do get the crazy ones."
"Really? Manners?" Carla questioned.
"Enough chatter!" Braille yelled. "Hand over the sacred Key
"Oh, you mean this key?" Gajeel held up the mentioned object while grinning with amusement. "I don't know, it looks kind of tasty."
"Besides, you're in no position to demand anything," Lily sternly added. "It's six against two."
"Oh, really~" the young girl cooed sweetly, causing the fairies to stiffened.
'What's she up to?' Gajeel thought. But then his ears flared when he heard a branch creaking above. "What the-"
"Get down!" Lily roared as he pushed Gajeel away.
"Move!" Mira shouted as she did the same to Levy and Kagura.
"Ah!" Levy shouted as she hit the floor. "Mira what are you-" but her retort was halted at the sight of a young man holding the tip of a spear in each hand to Mira's and Lily's chest.
"Thesaurian: Petrified!" he shouted, before using the tree behind him to propel forward and land by the two girls.
"What-" Mira began before she stopped moving, her body unnaturally stiffened as it tried to lean away from the attack.
"It's too la-" Lily followed soon after, and a gravelly crack was heard as both were turned to stone.
"Lily!/Mira-san!"
"It's like Stone Eyes got to them!" Gajeel snarled. He turned and scowled at the lancer. "Who are you and what the hell you do to them?!"
The lancer only laughed. "My name is Alexis Garten. And all I did was use my Thesaurian to add the adjective 'petrified' onto them."
"I never heard of letter magic like that," Levy gasped as she got to her feet.
"Yeah, well those ice mages were surprised as well."
"Ice mages?" Gajeel parroted, then growled. "You don't mean…"
"Lyon Vastia and Gray Fullbuster," Alexis finished smugly. "I went after them in the East. Meanwhile, Mairi took care of your blonde friend, Lucy Heartfillia, as some pink-haired nuisance and a blue cat"
Mairi smirked in agreement, while the four fairies dropped their jaws in shock and disbelief.
"Lyon and… Lu-chan…" Levy stuttered out
"Merudy-san was with Lyon-san too," Kagura cried out. "Was she-"
"Natsu and Happy as well," Carla finished somberly.
"What the hell you even want from us?" Gajeel demanded furiously, veins popping upon his hand.
"Just hand over the Gospel's Key and we let you live," Alexis lived.
"Unless you seek to gamble your lives against superior foes," Braille cackled. "Muahahaha!"
"We can't let them get Brigid," Levy muttered. "But…"
"Half-Pint, Manners," Gajeel spoke, his voice barely heard by his nearby teammates. He spared a slight gaze to their petrified comrades before staring straight at their enemy. "Think you can carry She-Demon and Lily?"
"I… I think so," Kagura replied sheepishly. "But why…"
"Levy, I got three words for you."
"What is it?" Levy replied, raising a single hand.
"GATE OF HADES!"
The Garten agents look at him in shock. Alexis shouted, "the hell does that-"
"Solid Script: Smoke!" Levy quickly wrote her spell and threw it to the ground, filling the entire room with smoke.
"Keh, dammit!" Alexis yelled, coughing through the heavy smog. "Mairi, clear this!"
Mairi pulled out her fiddle and played a simple tune, creating a small breeze that blew away the smoke through the now broken windows, revealing the three clan kids to be the only ones present.
"Barking Spiders!" Braille cursed as a vein twitched on Alexis's forehead. "Have those dastardly Strainreisers escaped from our presence?!"
"One… two… three…" Alexis growled, before taking a deep breath. He glared heavily at the two girls. "Split and find them. They couldn't have gone far."
Mairi and Braille nodded, and the three quickly exited the building
Gajeel only ran a few meters from the building before coming to a stop by a streetlamp. "That'll do," Gajeel said out loud, looking back behind there. "Now, let's hope one of them took the bait-"
"Excuse me, guvnor!" Gajeel turned forward to see a grizzly gray-haired man wearing a sharp suit and a bowler hat. "You can't go around loitering like that!" he held his cane straight at the Dragon Slayer
"Hey, watch it, geezer," Gajeel snarled back, pushing it away. "I got bigger things to worry about."
"Well, Ah'm the sheriff of Iris here, so what could be bigger than that?"
"Me!" a third voice shouted. Gajeel quickly pushed the sheriff out of the way before either could be impaled by Alexis's forward-thrust lance.
"Good dodge," the Garten man taunted.
The sheriff's jaw dropped. "What in blazes-"
"Get moving!" Gajeel shouted at him before returning his attention to the fight. "Iron Dragon's Sword!" he swung his blade arm at Alexis, who merely used his lances to block the attack.
"Oh, scary," Alexis replied as both warriors pushed back at each other. "To be honest, while I do want to get the Gospel Key," he smirked. "I've always wanted to see how tough you outsiders are."
"Don't get cocky yet!" Gajeel's sword started to roar and shake like a chainsaw, forcing the two to break apart, the lancer being pushed towards the streetlamp
Alexis swung his left lance by the lamp, cutting off a small piece caught on the tip. "Thesaurian: Explosive!" he thrust the lance and sent the metal piece (with the word "explosive" etched on it) flying towards Gajeel.
"Crap!" Gajeel sidestepped away, but he was only a few feet away before the metal erupted into a fireball that caught part of his side. Thankfully, he conjured up iron scales to protect that region in time.
He cringed from the heat of the blast. "Shit that hurts!"
"Heh, too easy," Alexis stated. He frowned as he used his right lance, to deflect a series of magic bullets coming at him.
"Get out of my town, ya yipper-snapper!" the sheriff shouted as fired upon the lancer with his pistol. But the moment the trigger unleashed nothing but a click, he started to stutter
"Ugh, rude," Alexis grumbled, before speeding forward and knocked the pistol out of his grip. "Stay out of this old man!" he said before tapping the lance on his chest. "Unbalanced!"
The word was inscribed on the sheriff's chest, and his legs shook like jelly before they gave him. "Ah, my hip!"
"That'll keep you-"
"Iron Dragon's Club!" he leapt back to avoid a metal club launched towards him, before seeing it pulled back to Gajeel.
"Leave him out of this!" Gajeel snarled.
"Hey, he got in the way!" Alexis argued, before smirking. "Besides, I still want to try you out!"
"How are you holding up, Kagura?" Carla asked as the two rushed through the cobbled streets of Iris while earning a few strange looks for carrying their petrified teammates.
"I'm… doing… fine…" the swords girl muttered while balancing Mira on her back. "Using… gravity… magic… to… lessen… load… what about… you?"
"For the most part fine," Carla answered, gripping tightly on Lily's thick rock neck. "It would have been better if he shrunk before being petrified, but beggars can't be choosy."
"Yeah… at least… we… lost…"
CRASH!
Carla turned her head and nearly dropped Lily in surprise at the sight of Braille riding on a metallic ape automaton after crashing through a drugstore, spilling out candies, medicine, and screaming civilians.
"Foolish Strainseir!" the young girl cackled as steam came out of the beast's nostrils while it chased them. "You would be hard-pressed to escape my mighty Gigantopitacus! Muahahaha!"
"Carla…" Kagura weakly began while facing forward "what is…"
"You don't want to know."
"How far is she?"
"About 20 meters back," Carla replied, suspicion in her tone. "Why?"
"This… will… kya!" Kagura suddenly collapsed onto the ground.
"Kagura!"
"Muahahaha!" Braille laughed. "Now it is… huh-" her cackling stopped at the sound of grinding gears before her automaton collapsed under its weight and created a sinkhole through the pavement. "KYA!"
"That… heh… will hold her…" Kagura wheezed as she got back onto her feet, carefully balancing Mira on her back. "But… not… long…"
Carla nodded, before narrowing her eyes at a specific target. "Excuse me, sir," she greeted the farmer who was feeding his two big-horned sheep but currently staring at the two girls. "Could we borrow your cart?"
"Holy Scrioptúr: Etilt!" Levy shouted as her rune wings sprouted from her back, letting her take off from her old home.
'Just need to wait long enough for Kagura and Carla to get Mira and Lily to safety,' she thought as she flew over a gathering of. 'They still need the key,' she reached for her waist, where the key was pressed between it and her dress. 'And they have no idea who has it, so they'll need to split up.'
Her nose then switched from a sudden wet drop. "Huh?" she looked up and saw rain clouds gathering above. "How, the weather was said to sunny here all day."
Her question was answered by the high pitch playing of a fiddle. Turning her head to the source, she spotted Mairi following while playing her instrument.
"You know, a part of me wants to know how you summoned rain with music," Levy stated. "The other part is really getting tired of this. Solid Script: Wind!" she quickly wrote the spell and sent it at the Garten agent, who stopped playing to use her bow to cling to the roof.
Annoyance crossed the mute girl's face as she played a vicious jig on her fiddle, causing the neck to glow red.
"Oh, boy," Levy let out as she started to fly back. "That's not good."
With a final sharp chord from Mairi, the red glow flew off from the bow and became a pair of howling dogs made from a hodge-podge of red musical notes that ran across the air to Levy.
"Oh no! Solid Script: Rock!" she threw the first spell at one of the note-dog, sending it crashing to the ground. But left her vulnerable for the other dog to knock her down to the rooftop.
"Gah!" she screamed as she both hands to keep the dog from biting down on her throat. "Holy Scrioptúr: Bogha!" the wings on her back broke back into runes that traveled onto her left arm, transforming them and impaling the note-dog with its sharp bone end, forcing it to break apart into tiny music notes.
"That was too close," Levy muttered as she got back onto her feet. Her relief was quickly shot down when she saw Mairi flying towards her on a giant crow made from black musical notes
"Oh, you're just full of surprises are you," Levy grumbled as she aimed her bow-arm at her opponent.
"I-it was nice of that man to give us his cart!" Kagura stuttered, her jaw shaking from the bumpy cart ride as the big-horned sheep pair raced across the streets. She kept a tight grip on the reins while both beasts bleated. "Wh-where to next?!"
"Out of city borders," Carla answered, keeping an eye on their petrified teammates who were tied in the cart. "Less chance of innocents getting caught in the crossfire."
"M-maybe so," Kagura replied. "I'm w-worried about what else she has. Her group had a wolf, a vu-vulture, a goat, a gorilla-"
"A mantis."
"I don't think we seen one yet, Carla."
"Well, we have now!" Carla shouted, pointing up to see Braille riding on a giant metal mantis above them
"Ah, congratulations!" Braille cackled. "To escape from a demon that is I is no mere feat! Know your feeble triumph as I send you to the depth of the Cycle of Death!"
"Just keep driving, Kagura!" Carla shouted. "We have to keep her on our tail!"
"I know!" Kagura nodded, lightly flicking the reins to get the sheep to gallop faster.
"Ah, so you choose to run from Death herself?" the blind girl taunted. "Great Mantis, bring them down!"
The automaton obeyed and dived straight towards the cart.
"Kya!" Kagura cried as she tried to turn the cart away. But it was for naught as the giant mechanical insect knocked it over, sending its two passengers and two steeds crashing into a cart of Cauliflowers.
"My Cauliflower Stand!" the cart owner shouted. But any frustration he had was quenched when he saw the Mantis Automaton towering over him. "Err, all yours free of charge!" he shouted before running away.
"Hmm, weak-willed mortal! It's not even one of the stronger ones," Braille scoffed as she demounted from her steed. She then heard shaking in front of her. "Great Mantis, find them."
The Mantis Automaton let out a groan as it raised its front limbs over the wreckage before swinging them down, metal spikes underneath ready to pierce any survivor. But they were quickly intercepted by a sheathed Katana.
"My turn," Kagura said sternly. "Hya!" she pushed back, putting the automaton off-balanced.
"You okay, Carla?" the swordsgirl asked.
The Exceed pushed a large cauliflower off her and replied. "Safe. And so are Mira and Lily." The two Big-Horn Sheep popped out of the rubble next to her while playing tug of war with a cauliflower. "And so are the sheep, apparently."
"Good!" Kagura replied, before turning back to the Mantis, who began its relentless attacks with its front limbs. But Kagura countered every strike, swinging her sword to intercept the attack and breaking the spines off of them. With a shout, she jumped out and channel's Archenemy's cutting power to send a slash at the automaton, in the process cutting off its head and forcing its body to collapse.
"Huh," Braille straightened when she heard the sound of metal being cut and the bang from the fallen head. "Great Mantis?" she ran over to kneel where she heard the bang and felt over the head.
"I never knew that Kagura could be so fierce," Carla gasped.
"Yes," Braille grinned, getting back to her feet. "To decapitate your enemy is a sign of triumph in Clan Garten. You might be more impressive-"
"OhMyGoshIJustCutOffIt'sHead!" Kagura gasped, panting frantically as the implication just slammed into her. "ItMightBeMetalButItStillFeelsWrong! AmIAKillerNow?! WhatDoIDoWhatDoIDo?!"
"Or, I just judged you to kindly," Braille muttered, raising a hand to cover her left eye. "Still you forget one thing about Mantises," she cackled as the headless Mantis rose up on its back legs. "They can live for a while without their head!"
"No way!" Kagura gasped.
A loud series of thumps grabbed her attention, forcing to see that the Gigantopithecus Automaton has just arrived, putting her and Carla between two metal beast.
"One's bad enough," Carla said, switching her sight between them in fright. "But two…"
"Since you've impressed me, Strainseir, I will treat you with my newest and greatest technique," a dark aura surrounded Braille as she shouted. "Gigantopithecus! Great Mantis! Unite!"
To Kagura's surprise, both Automatons leapt into the air in front of her. A part of the ape's back opened up like a hinge, allowing the headless mantis to insert its body inside. It extended its long front legs to cover the back of the ape's arm. The combined machine landed in front of the swordsgirl and let out a bestial scream while raising its bladed fist to the air.
'This is bad,' Kagura thought as she tightened her grip on Archenemy. 'It must be a lot stronger now that they combined. I might be even forced to unsheath you. But I can't risk putting this town in any more danger.'
"Now, Ultra-Warbinging-Automaton of mine," Braille yelled. "Crush this little girl!"
The automaton let out a roar as swung its fist down to her heart. Kagura held Archenemy up, waiting to catch the mantis arm and deflect it.
She waited.
And waited.
And waited.
To her surprise, she found that the fist had stopped an inch away from her sword and was shaking violently.
"Huh?" she asked.
And then the automaton collapsed in front of her, it's limbs popping off and the mantis body ejecting from the ape's like a spring toy.
"Did that just happen?" Carla asked staring at the wreckage in front of her with disbelief. "It can't be that easy."
"I... guess it is," Kagura said nervously, eyeing the fallen automaton like it would get back up any moment
"No! No, no, no, no!" they looked forward and saw Braille pulling at her hair and screaming. "It should have worked! I thought I finally surpassed Relbeo-sama!"
"Relbeo?" Kagura asked. "Isn't that…"
"Enough games," Carla spoke up. "Just surrender her."
Braille turned her head to them and smiled as she let go of her hair. "Luck has favored you this day, Strainseir. But," she pulled out an object. "You cannot catch this heroine yet."
"Hold on-" Kagura shouted as the other girl threw down the object, which spewed out black smoke that left the two fairies coughing. When the smoke blew away moments later, they found that Braille had vanished.
"Ironic," Carla muttered. "Bested by the same technique we used earlier."
"Never mind that," Kagura said as she went to pick up Mira and Lily. "Let's go find Gajeel-san and Levy-san."
"Solid Script: Fire!" Levy pulled back the blue flame construct on her arm before releasing and shooting it at Mairi, who simply had her note-crow dodge it. She then responded by strumming her fiddle, sending several notes that blasted the rooftop.
'Damn it,' Levy her mind 'That crow's is keeping her far from reach. Still, it is made of musical notes, maybe…'
"Holy Scrioptúr: Etilt!" her arm returned to normal as the runes traveled across her body to form wings. She then flew off the roof to avoid another musical assault.
"You want to music, fine," she said to her opponent. " But I prefer the duet! Solid Script: Shriek!" she quickly wrote the spell and tossed it in the air, releasing a high-pitched, near ear-rupturing cry.
Mairi let out a silent cry as she clenched her ear, while the note-crow shrieked and flew frantically.
"Solid Script: Discord!" she fired the black word into the crow, where it fused it. The musical note beast let out a final cry before breaking apart, sending its rider falling while she played her fiddle hopelessly.
"Nic- Kah!" she coughed out drops of blood as half of her wings vanished, causing her to descend slowly.
'Just like against Angel.' she thought as she wrote "Glue" and used it to trap the fiddler against the wall of a cottage, her bow and fiddle kept apart.
"Gotcha!" Levy cheered as she descended and deactivated her wings. 'I'll deal with that issue later.'
"Alright then," she said to the Mairi as she walked towards her. "Tell me everything you have planned for Brigid."
The trapped Mairi only replied with a deadpan look.
A slight flush covered Levy as the realization hit her like a Wizard Saint's strongest attack. "Right. I bound up a girl that can't talk and can't move her hands or arms," she groaned. "You can still move your head?"
Mairi nodded once, glaring daggers at her captor
"Good, so you better be honest," Levy stated, ignoring the faint sound in her ear. "Answer me, is Clan Garten after Brigid?"
When Mairi nodded, she continued. "Are you targeting every student and every colleague of my grandfather?"
Another nod.
"Do you know what your group wants with Brigid?"
Another nod.
Levy frowned, but it was getting harder to focus on her with that strange noise in her head. "What is that anyway, it sounds like… fiddling?" she looked straight at Mairi, who was smirking while her bow and fiddle were an arm span apart.
"Oh no," Levy thought. She tried to take a step back but found herself unable to move her body and legs, like a force was pushing back at them. "This will hurt," she tilted her head forward, then swung it backward, hitting a hard surface. "Ow!"
The force made her close her eyes for a second, but when she opened them, she found herself tied to a tree with rope all across her body. "Huh?" Looking in front of her was Mairi, standing tall while playing a gentle melody.
And on the ground next to her was the Gospel Key.
"Give that back!" Levy shouted, struggling to get her hands free from the rope. Mairi only smirked as she put her instrument behind her back, then picked up the Key and ran off.
"No," Levy moaned, her will deflating as her opponent left her sight. A tear escaped her as she muttered: "I'm sorry, grandfather."
"Rahh!" Gajeel roared as he was sent crashing through a pub window, landing under an ale barrel that spilled it's content on him and splashed over his iron scales, which now covered his entire body.
'Crap,' he thought, gritting his teeth in annoyance. 'I'm pushed on the defensive. That fucking lancer keeps attacking me and I have to keep making scales,' he shook his head to get the ale off his head. 'He's too fast to hit too. If he didn't have his freaking spears.' He slowly got back onto his feet. 'That might not be a bad idea.'
"There you are," Alexis spoke, swagger spoken by his tongue and body as he entered the pub. "Ready to tell me where that Key Piece is?"
"Sure," Gajeel grinned as he took a deep breath. "It's in my… Iron Dragon's Roar!"
"Four, five, crap!" Alexis shouted as pulled a discarded table and held it flat side against the wall. "Thesaurian: Indestructible!" he tapped one of his lances against the table, which glowed when the iron storm from Gajeel struck it. Surprisingly, it held well against the assault and remained unharmed as iron shards fell beneath it.
"Well, that was pointless," Alexis chuckled as he pushed the table away and-
SPLASH!
"Gahh!" he shouted as he was now coated with soapy water. "The hell is this?!"
"Just robbed the kitchen for this stuff!" Gajeel yelled as he tossed away the empty bucket that once filled with suds, before delivering a roundhouse kick to his enemy's lance. With his hands covered in water and soap, Alexis could not keep a tight enough grip on his weapons, letting them fly off of him.
"You grow up in a bar for seven years with fights every day, you learn to be creative," Gajeel explained as he quickly grabbed Alexis by the throat with a single hand.
"Dammit!, let me go!" Alexis yelled.
"Well, looks like you're out of luck, " the dragon slayer taunted as Alexis struggled in his grip.
"Six… seven… seven…"
"Weaker Letter Mages like you can't use your magic without their toys. And you need those lances for that Thesaurian shit. So just take your little sisters and leave us-"
" You fucking idiot…" Alexis raised his eyes and gave a startling glare to Gajeel, one that shut the dragon slayer up.
For in those eyes was not fear but panic, the panic that cornered animals radiated with a touch of adrenaline before striking back.
"Those lances… just give me a better reach…" he brought his trembling hand to Gajeel's iron-coated arm.
Red eyes widened in terror. "Ah, shi-"
"Thesaurian: Rusty!"
"-it!" Gajeel let go of his opponent and stumbled back, but it was too late. Patches of rust were appearing all over his body, while Alexis fell to the ground with sweat racing down his body.
"Shit! Shit!" Gajeel shouted as the rust was covering more of his scales. It was getting harder to move each second, as each attempt came with a futile metal creak.
"You won't..." but he struggled still, slowly marching towards the Garten soldier.
"You won't…" he extended his iron-coated hand towards him as rust traveled up his arm.
"You won't..." his palm was inches away.
"You-"
And right in front of Alexis Garten's dilated pupils was a flat palm covered in rust. Looking forward, he saw the dragon slayer in front of them was nothing but an iron statue that looked like it was left out of the rain to long. The creaks emanated were of the pointless effort of trying to move rusty scales pass each other.
"Heh heh heh," Alexis laughed weakly as he whipped his hands dry, then reached for his lances. "You thought you can beat me?" he pulled himself to his feet and stumbled towards Gajeel. "You think you can kill me?" He raised one lance and aimed it at the slayer's heart. "NOT IF I KILL YOU-"
And out of the blew came a beautiful, gentle melody. Alexis's muscles lost their tension through the music while his eyes widened, and he slowly lowered his lances.
"Wait, what-" he shook his head and turned around, spotting Mairi playing her fiddle, though her distraught face did not reflect the melody. "Thanks, cousin."
Mairi stopped playing, but her frown did not waver even as she pulled out the Gospel Key.
"Yeah, we won anyway," he scoffed, before frowning in worry. "Where's Braille?"
"Gah!" he turned and saw the younger girl stomping towards him. "Insolent samurai! How dare she beat my two strongest servants?! And how dare the great Relbeo refuse to submit to my will and allow combination!"
"Do I want to know?" he questioned.
Braille merely grimaced. "It is nothing to worry about, big brother. Tell me we at least achieved our sacred goal."
"We did," Alexis turned one final glare at Gajeel before returning his sight to the other girls. "Let's get going. The enchantment won't last long, and I'm not interested in fighting the others before that happens."
Gajeel could only watch as Mairi pulled out a white runestone and pressed on it, and again when the three Clan Garten children vanished into white runes, along with one of the Keys to Brigid.
And that's that-
Gajeel: Rust?! I got beat cause of motherfucking rust!
Hey, it makes sense.
Gajeel: Like hell it does!
The power of Logical Weakness compels you!
Gajeel: What?
Err, never mind. Don't forget to let me know what you thought. And don't forget to check out the stories TV Trope Page under 'Alternate Tail Series.'
Also, I have a new discord channel for my fanfiction and deviantart exploits. Look for them at /GD98Nrh to talk more about Alternate Tail and my other stories.
By the way, if you run into a woman named Mrs. Rosaline Evergreen, just play along with what she says.
Gajeel: You ever think you might be insane.
Hey, I'm a writer. Insanity is my territory.