Previously on…
"You have fifteen minutes, you and Natsu are the strongest here. Take. Down. That. Canon." I whispered fiercely. Gray looked at me his face alarmed. I saw his lips moving but I was too far gone. His worried face was the last thing I saw before I fell unconscious.
I came to slowly, laying on a table in the center of the guild. I saw Erza was awake beside me. "That was foolish, Erza." I spoke softly, yet my words came out harshly.
"I saved the guild. And that is all that matters." Erza stated as she stood.
"And what would have been the point of this guild if you had died?!" I yelled at her as I rose to a standing position, wincing as I put pressure on my injured leg. I looked down to see that it was still made of ice, but it had regenerated into a crude leg. It hurt, but it was enough to get me from point A to B and enough to ensure I could still fight.
"Come on, we need to assess what has been happening." Erza ignored my previous statement entirely and I used my ice to cover my leg in another layer, helping to heal it and ensure my movement. I nodded and we raced for the outside of the guild. We froze as we saw the giant machine drawing a magic circle, and the guild under attack by shadow soldiers of Jose's creation.
"Cana!" I called out to as I raced over to her as she collapsed to the ground.
"Aquila, Erza! You're awake!" Cana cried out as I helped her to her feet.
"We're saved!" Wakaba called out as the rest of the guild begin to fight harder.
"Cana, what did we miss?" Erza asked as she slashed through a shadow soldier.
"Natsu destroyed Jupiter. But Jose began casting Abyss break. But for whatever reason, it seems to have slowed down. Mira, Elfman, Gray, and Natsu are all in their guild hall. They will make sure to stop Jose's spell." Cana reported in as we fought back to back.
"Aquila, we must make our way to Phantom and assist our comrades." Erza ordered and I gave Cana a quick squeeze.
"You better stay safe, you hear me? Booze is on you when this is all over!" I called out as Cana gave me a determined grin.
Erza and I sprinted towards the water, and I began to ice it over as we ran. I hoped that we weren't too late. Erza and I leapt up through the shattered entry to where the lacrima storing the Jupiter cannon had been. It was shattered and a knocked out wizard was in the rubble. I knelt beside him, and turned him over. It was Totomaru of the Element Four. "Erza, Natsu must've beat him."
"Naturally, I had faith in him that he could do it." Erza nodded as we ran, passing through yet another hall, where another body lay. It was Sol of the Element Four, beaten to a pulp.
"No burns, it must have been Elfman." I stated as we ran past a window, then I skidded to a halt. "Erza!"
"What is it?"
"Magic circle it has slowed down again." I pointed to the hands we could see outside the window, which we moving infinitesimally slower.
"Could it be related to the Element Four?" I offered up as a cause.
"It makes sense, they are some of Phantom's strongest wizards, and it was already moving slowly when we saw Totomaru and Sol defeated." Erza allowed, deep in thought.
"If that is the case, who was beaten, Juvia or Aria?" I pondered aloud.
"Juvia, Aria is exceedingly powerful."
"Then we need to find Aria and whoever is facing him and lend a hand!" I declared before shooting off down the hall, Erza close on my tail. We needed to find Aria, and fast, before the machine finished casting Abyss break.
As we spun into the entry hall, it was clear to see who was facing Aria, and that he wasn't doing well.
As Natsu screamed, Erza and I leaped into the fray, both of us kicking Aria in the face, disrupting his spell and dropping Natsu to the floor.
"Erza! Aquila!" Happy cheered.
"You guys are here? Is it okay for you to move? You two are injured." Natsu asked with concern in his voice.
Erza and I turned to where we could sense Aria's magic power. Natsu and Happy took a few steps backwards.
"So… You're the bastard who dared lay a hand on our master." I growled, cracking my knuckles.
"The Great Erza Scarlet. And Aquila Orion no less. How unfortunate, it seems the Great Titania and Icy Damsel will lose their heads along with Salamander." Aria grinned.
"Our master suffered greatly by your hands. We will avenge him." Erza stated in a cold voice.
Natsu protested but paused as Aria chuckled. "Seeing as I am faced with more serious opponents, it's time I start taking my battles more seriously." Aria removed the bandage covering his eyes, and I tensed. He would grow to much greater power now that he could use his eyes.
"Now Titania, Glacial Aquila, step into Zero: Airspace of death!" Aria stated as wind began to swirl around him. "It consumes the lives of all who dare to enter!"
The wind began to stir up dust, hiding Natsu and happy from our eyes as we faced down Aria. "A magic that takes lives?! How can you bear to do this, you scoundrel!" Erza thundered as she requipped a sword.
"It would be more fun to show you." Aria grinned as his eyes glowed. Erza and ran forward, cutting through the wind. "Let's see just how well you handle this!" Aria yelled. He unleashed a wave of magic designed to keep us back and away from him.
I morphed my arms into icy spikes and joined Erza in using our combined magic power to slice through the spell. As he fired once again, Erza and I leapt into the air, Erza requipping into her Heaven's wheel armor.
"Heaven's wheel, scattered petals!" She yelled as she sent hundreds of her blades at Aria. Her attack landed and was followed by an icy fist to his face, sending him back a few dozen feet, the hard way.
"Your strength could not be compared to our master's, you'll only be remembered as a sobbing coward who fell by our hand." Erza stated as she fixed Aria with a cold glare.
Aria murmured a final few words as he then fell unconscious.
"That should be it. All the Element Four have fallen." I sighed, exhausted physically.
As the building began to rumble, Erza requipped into her ordinary clothes then began to collapse. I caught her and gently lowered her to the floor. Natsu ran over and held her up as I fell back against the floor.
"Attention you pathetic Fairy Tail worms. Listen carefully because I will only say this once." A scream echoed over the loudspeaker, and I paled.
"Lucy!" I screamed as I struggled to stand back up.
"We have captured Lucy Heartfilia, which means our first order of business is out of the way. And that leaves us with just one more thing. My favorite part. Wiping all you miserable brats off the face of the earth." Jose cackled.
"Oh man, they got Lucy." Natsu whispered.
"Natsu." Erza whimpered out.
'Erza!" Natsu whipped his gaze down to my fallen partner.
"Listen, use your strength, it lies dormant deep down inside of you. Believe in yourself. Find it, find your strength, and awaken it." Erza spoke quietly, but her words resounded within the hall.
"Believe in yourself, as we always have, do it for Lucy. For our guild! Prove our faith in you is justified. Show us you're capable of surpassing us!" I thundered out. Natsu laid Erza carefully on the floor and began to draw his magic power to himself. A dragon's roar could be heard as his flames exploded and he leapt upwards, hell bound on saving Lucy and our guild.
"You know, I always knew he had it in him." I whispered, as I dragged Erza to a column for her to lean up against. I leaned up against it next to her, resting my eyes. Eventually I passed out, a result of my physical injuries and lack of magic, that had been used the whole time to continue repairing my leg.
"Erza? Aquila?" I heard a soft voice whisper. It sounded like Mira. I peeled my eyes open, to see Mira and Elfman standing above us, and Gray crouched next to me.
"Are you two okay?" Gray asked, his voice laced with concern.
"It looks like something big went down." Elfman stated.
"It's you. I take it from how soaked you are, that you defeated Juvia." I whispered to Gray.
"Never mind that. You're injured you shouldn't be here." Gray stated with a note of steel in his voice.
"Neither of you are looking too well." Mira agreed.
"Whoa." Elfman looked in shock at Aria, down on the ground.
"That's Aria!" Mira chirped.
"You two got shot by that cannon, and you STILL fought this guy?!" Elfman voiced his surprise.
I cast a half-hearted smirk in their direction. "He's all talk."
"What the hell were you two thinking?!" Gray demanded with anger in his voice.
"I must admit, I never wanted any of you to see me in such a wretched state." Erza smiled. "I guess I still have a lot to learn."
I stiffened as Mira, Elfman, and Gray froze.
"What the-?" Gray spoke
"What is it?" Mira whispered, as Erza and I stiffened.
"I sense death" Erza stated.
"It smells like…" I took a whiff of the air, and whipped my head to the other three, as I struggled to stand. "Get out of here!" I yelled to the other three.
"Bravo." A slow clap echoed through the hall, as Jose descended the stairs. "You're all quite keen. Very impressive, Fairy Tail wizards. I knew this would be fun, but never in my wildest dreams, did I think it would be this entertaining. You annihilated the Jupiter cannon, disposed of my elite Element Four, and you even managed to bring my magic giant to its knees."
"Jose." I growled out.
"Thank you, you've been so kind to entertain me, I feel like I simply must return the favor." Jose grinned, as Gray and Elfman leapt in front of us. "I'll return it in full." Jose began to emit and even darker aura as Gray and Elfman leapt at him.
"NO! Don't do it! Get out of here!" I screamed as Jose sent Gray and Elfman spinning into a heap of rubble, knocked out cold. His next attack sent the two into the air once more, and Mira spinning towards the back of the room. Erza struggled to her feet next to me.
We leapt at the Wizard Saint, dodging his attacks. I was covered in ice, and my hair was loose and writhing, once again covered in ice. Erza swung at him in her black-wing armor, while I battered at him with my fists and feet. However, Jose grabbed both Erza's hand and my leg, sending us spinning backwards. Erza and herself and regained her balance, I did the same, landing in a crouch.
"Fascinating." Jose spoke. "You two took a shoot from Jupiter at full force, did you not? And yet you're still standing."
"Only because our friends have filled our hearts with their strength." Erza declared.
"And because your action shave filled our hearts with fury." I spat out.
"We will withstand any physical pain, to protect the ones that we love." Erza stated, her sword held in a defensive manner.
"And we will bring absolute vengeance upon those who dare harm them." I growled out.
"Courageous, powerful, and exquisitely beautiful. Destroying you will bring me absolute pleasure." Jose grinned, his eyes filled with madness.
"To hell with you! We aren't beat yet!" I roared. I snapped my hair off and send the shards spinning at Jose's who blew them up with a flick of his wrist. Erza flew at him again and again, with me close behind, as we struggled to land a single blow on him.
As we jumped back from our last assault, rumbling began to echo throughout the guildhall, bits of stone falling from the ceiling.
"My, what an unruly dragon you have." Jose stated.
"He may be unruly, but he's also an extremely powerful wizard. In fact, I'd say he's just as strong as I am, if not stronger." Erza stated as she panted, while leveling her sword at Jose.
"Of course he is, and he's strong enough to kick any wizard of your guild's ass on any day, at any time." I bared my fangs at Jose who chuckled.
"There's no need to be so modest girls, your magics are just as spectacular as Salamander's. You two are the first wizards to ever last this long against me in battle." Jose raised a hand, "truth be told, we'd be more equally matched in power if you two hadn't taken a hit from the Jupiter cannon earlier today. You know what really irks me about Fairy Tail?" Jose said, switching tracks randomly. "The fact that there are so many powerful wizards such as yourselves… who are allied with Makarov!" Jose fired off dual shots of his shadow magic, sending Erza and I slamming into a wall. "Since you can't be tempted to join Phantom, there's only one way to change that." Jose fired more shots at us, but we leapt into the air, moving in opposite directions, hoping to make ourselves less of a target. "Kill you!" Jose thundered.
We continued to move, fleeing from the shots he was firing. "Your deaths will send the old coot into a deep despair. Imagine how he'll feel when he awakens to find his guildhall destroyed and his children dead and gone. He'd be lost, completely consumed by sorrow. Once he's been reduced to that miserable state, I can swoop in and kill him, but first, I'll make him suffer. I'll torture him until he has no choice but to wither and die!"
"You sick bastard!" I roared as I unleashed my icicle tempest on him. Erza leapt at him and tried to slash him, but he faded into thin air and reappeared behind her.
"As long as I can remember, Phantom Lord has always been at the top. The most powerful wizards with the strongest spells. We always had more members and more capital than any other guild. However, recently Fairy Tail has begun to catch up and our position as leader is in jeopardy." I dashed towards Jose and sent a brigade of icicles at him, only for him to wave his hand and turn them to water.
"The names Erza, Aquila, Laxus, and Mystogan became widely known. And stories of the Salamander spread across the land like wildfire. Now Phantom Lord and Fairy Tail are considered equals, the top two guilds representing this kingdom. The thought disgusts me." Jose's eyes widened as he thundered, "I refuse to be acquainted with such a feeble guild!"
"SHUT UP!" I roared as Erza and I both attacked as one.
"So, we're fighting for our lives just because you've had a fit of jealousy?!" Erza yelled as she held out her sword in open challenge.
"Jealousy? That's absurd, we simply wanted to prove to the kingdom that we are the dominant guild."
"You bastard. I've seen animal and children with more honor than you!" I bellowed. Erza leapt at Jose and began to slash wildly at him. I joined her and began to hurl icicles and balls of ice at Jose. With a grunt of exertion, he summoned some of his shadow creatures, which circled around Erza. I leapt backwards and smashed some of the ones coming for me, but one got around my leg and eventually locked me in place.
I let out a groan of agony, as bolts of lightning leapt through me. I was determined to not let this sick bastard see me scream.
"I've never been particularly fond of your guild. My distaste for you is not what triggered this war." Jose continued his rant. He was a madman and I began to tune him out, struggling not to scream in agony as Erza was. Just hang on Erza, I thought as Jose sent another bolt to us. I began to pay attention was when he accused us of using Lucy's family fortune to buy our way to the top.
"You dumbass" I rasped out, trying to keep the pain out of my voice.
"What was that?" Jose asked as his spirits drew me closer to the man. "I called you a dumbass. We didn't even know Lucy was a Heartfilia until this ridiculous war. She couldn't have bought her way in, we couldn't be using that money! She is one of us because of who she is, not how much money she has! She struggles to pay rent, how could she be giving us money?! So, we're the best…" I paused for a minute, panting as he sent more bolts through me, but I would finish this if it was the last thing I did. "Because we are the strongest because of the wizards we are. Because we aren't COWARDS like Phantom Lord!" I yelled in triumph, then spit in Jose's face.
"You little bitch!" Jose roared then sent me slamming into a wall still stuck in the confines of my restraints, all while shocking me with more bolts. I clamped down of my jaw and resolved not to scream. He would have to kill me before I made a sound. Tears rolled down my cheeks from the sheer agony of it and I heard Erza screaming my name.
"Go. to. HELL!" I thundered as I began to push against my restraints with all of my might. I floated back over to Erza as I continued struggling, though my vision was getting blurry.
"I wouldn't keep struggling like that, if I were you, it's going to make this a lot more PAINFUL!" Jose conjured up two more creatures, one who went to Erza and one who came to me. I finally broke and screamed, it felt like my soul was being dragged out of my body kicking and screaming.
"You'd better buck up my dears, I want you to make an appearance before your peers. Once they see you two in such pitiful states, they're sure to surrender to me!"
"You're a despicable man!" Erza spat out at him. I snarled at him, baring my fangs.
"Now now, being rude to me isn't going to help your situation." Jose laughed as he once again shocked us. I screamed once more, and could feel my vision going black.
"Aquila!" Erza screamed out and I forced my eyes to open to see her sword levitating behind her. She was going to ensure there would be no surrender. I shook my head, and screamed once more. She couldn't, I wouldn't let her. I willed my body with all my strength, I was trying to turn to fluid ice to shield her! But these damn restraints!
Suddenly thunder echoed throughout the hall. Jose's restraints disappeared, and Erza and I were being healed. Her armor was repairing itself, and my ice that had chipped off my arms was reformed, as well as my leg finally healed itself.
"How?" Erza whispered as a light aura entered the hall. I collapsed beside Erza, who was on her knees. I eased myself up, and turned to see Master Makarov, healthy and alive, and ready to do battle.
"You have shed the blood of our children. And that is unforgivable. They have been made to suffer because of the incompetence of their parents. We are both to blame, Jose." Master said, his voice stern. Erza's eyes were tearing and I cast a weak grin at Master. "This war between us, has gone on long enough. Let's end this, here and now!"
"Master." Erza wiped away her tears of joy and I gave the old geezer a salute. I knew he could pull it off and come back.
"If we fight, it could create a catastrophe." Jose grinned as his dark and menacing aura made an appearance, fighting with Master's aura of light.
"In order to save my guild, I will gladly take that risk!" Master agreed as he conjured a ball of golden light.
I heard Gray groan as he began to wake up, urged by Master's powerful aura.
Jose sent shadow skulls at Erza, Master and I, but Master conjured magic circles of defense.
"You kids need to get out while you can!" Master ordered. I heard Gray and Elfman call out to Master and proclaim their desire to stay.
"No, we have to do as he says!" Erza declared as she struggled to lift me to me feet.
"I've got her!" Gray jumped over the rubble and lifted me off the ground, carrying me in his arms, while Elfman lent Mira his arm. We disappeared through one of the hole Jose had blown in the wall. Gray froze a path through the water, given that I was too injured to conjure any ice.
As we reached shore, Cana cried out and raced towards us. "Aquila, Erza! What happened to you?!" She demanded to know, as Gray helped me to stand, though he kept one of his arms around me for support.
I grimaced then gave her a weak smile. "I pissed off the Master of Phantom Lord."
"WHAT?!" Cana squawked. Gray only rolled his eyes, but I could see that he was really quite concerned. I smiled at him and he looked away, with a faintly embarrassed expression.
A bright light suddenly echoed from the Phantom Lord Guild hall, and Jose's shadow soldiers began to disappear.
"That's fairy law!" Erza stated as she stared at the light.
"What the hell is that?" Gray asked.
I grinned up at him, and answered, "That, dear Gray, is checkmate."
"It is a spell that vanquishes darkness with sacred light. It only affects those whom the caster sees as their enemy." Erza explained more thoroughly, a smile upon her face. "Incredible isn't it? It's one of the most legendary spells in existence."
As the spell faded and Master appeared on the rim of the Phantom Lord Guild hall, the guild let out a cheer. I grinned and threw my arms around Gray, and kissed him on the cheek.
"Wha-what was that for?!" Gray asked as he let go of my, dumping me rather unceremoniously on my rear.
"Well generally, when something wonderful happens, gentlemen are rewarded with a kiss but if you're going to reward ladies who kiss you by dropping them well…" I smacked him on the head causing him to double over in pain. "I'll just do that instead." I laughed at Gray's pained expression and sauntered over to Cana who threw her arms around me and screamed in my ear with joy.
Master came closer and we quieted, waiting for his words. "We are victorious. But I had very little to do with it. This victory is yours, my children!"
A/N: Hey it may be 11 pm (my time at least), but I did update on time! And to reward you for your patience, a long chapter. I hope everyone had a happy holiday and if you do gift-giving got awesome presents! So read, review, and tell me what you liked or hated, and what your favorite present this Holiday season was!