Chapter 12: The Second Task, Part 2!

"You're not giving up, are you?"

The voice was muffled, sounding far away. Blinking her eyes sluggishly, she turned her head to the side slowly. She could make out the figure of Laxus standing a little away from her, standing as still as a statue. He was staring straight at her, his grey eyes once again visible without the lightning.

Letting her head fall back onto the cold ground below, she stared up into the night sky. This wasn't how she had foreseen any of this occurring. Not after having worked so hard to get here. Not after everything that had happened.

Struggling against the chains that held her against the wall, Wendy felt the fear bubbling in the pit of her stomach as the figures moved closer. She could see the weapons twirling in their hands and sense their magic despite being across the room.

"We had warned you." A voice spoke, clearly feminine but she couldn't pinpoint where it had come from. "You should have accepted the offer when you had the chance. Now we have no choice."

A sudden jerk of the chains soon had her sprawled out across the floor. She tried to bring her hands back into her chest, but the figure holding onto the chains didn't give. Letting out a scream of frustration, her dread only grew more when she felt some one grab her legs.

Hoisted up into the air, she thrashed about to get them to let go. But despite her best efforts, their grip on her never slacked. Next thing she knew, she was thrown on top of a wooden table, with her arms and legs immediately being shackled to the legs.

"There is a lesson you need to learn." The voice was closer this time, it was coming from her right. As she turned her head to try and make out the speaker, she was met with the figure of a tall woman. She was wearing a mask shaped like a skull over her face, with the only things visible being her dark purple eyes and the few strands of purple hair that stuck out from the mask.

The rest of her body was covered in some sort of armor, with what looked to be bones bolted down in random places across it. Wendy couldn't identify what kind of bones they were, and she didn't want to think about where the lady had gotten them from. The woman reached out a gauntlet-covered hand and placed it on top of Wendy's exposed head.

Wendy blinked and when her eyes opened, all the figures were gone. In their place stood the guild, her family. Erza stood where the woman had been, her hand still on her head. Gray and Lucy held onto her feet at the end of the table, and at the top Mira and Gajeel held down her hands.

Turning away, she saw the purple-haired woman now standing to her left, a spear in hand. "You are weak. Just a little girl getting in way over her head. Just give in and make it easier for all of us. Why burden anyone else with needing to protect you?"

She suddenly felt the grips around her arms and legs get tighter, and soon she was wincing in pain. Tears filled her eyes and threatened to spill out, but she blinked quickly to disperse them.

The woman began walking to the other side of the room, where another figure was chained to the wall. Raising the tip of the spear, she pushed it against the figures back to push him closer to Wendy. And when he shuffled into the light, Wendy cried out.

He stood hunched over, the right side of his face burned and scarred beyond recognition. His hands trembled, rattling the chains that kept him in place. He only had a few ripped pieces of cloth to cover himself, and she was instantly reminded of the scarf that was wrapped tightly around her neck.

"How could you stand up to me if he couldn't?"

Wendy screamed as she struggled against the chains that held her down, just wishing that they would break. But that would never happen, and she was forced to watch the woman raise the spear that was grasped tightly in her hand. Screaming at the woman to stop again, she was powerless as the woman's eyes glowed with power.

"Useless." she spoke, bringing the spear down.

No. The one word rang through her head as she stared up at the bright, night sky. She couldn't. Not after working so hard for so long. It wasn't supposed to end like this. Delicately raising a hand, she placed her palm on the ground, forcing herself to ignore the shock of the cold snow on her body and shakily began to push herself up.

Laxus watched her from the same spot across the clearing, a single eyebrow raised. "Oh?" Taking a few steps forward, he let another grin settle on his face. "So, you do have more spirit left in you."

Having finally made it onto her hands and knees, she turned her head to watch him out of the corner of her eye. Ignoring the locks of blue hair that whipped across her face in the wind, she continued to struggle for breath to attempt to refill some of her depleted magic reserves.

Pushing herself up further, she managed to plant her feet onto the ground and straighten her body. Her legs felt like noodles and her vision was blurred, but she managed to keep herself up. She allowed her arms to fall limp by her side as she continued to watch Laxus.

Feeling the familiar pull in her gut, the wind began to pick up speed around her, although it wasn't close to the speeds she had been pushing it to before. She sucked a bit of the air into her open mouth, breathing out a sigh as she felt her body slowly regain some of its lost strength.

It was all she was able to do before Laxus was on her again, right arm raised in a fist aimed towards her head. Her body screamed in protest and her legs felt like they were on fire as she barely managed to move out of his path. Raising her arms in front of her, she let out a burst of air from her palms and she launched herself back, putting space between them once again.

Digging her heels into the snow below, she skids to a stop. Swinging her arms out to her side, she could see the light green glow of the spell light up beside her. "Ile Vernier." She muttered, immediately feeling the difference in her body below.

Taking a few small steps to the right, she took notice of Laxus once again watching from the opposite side of the clearing. He was giving her time to prepare, most likely wanting to see just how much fight she had left in her. Still keeping her arms up, she let the soft green glow envelope her hands once again. "Ile Arms."

She quickly debated about whether she should cast her last enchantment but decided against it. She needed to preserve as much magic as possible. She'd have to try and make due for the time being. Taking a small step back with her right foot, she braced herself before pushing off the balls of her feet and launching forward.

She was upon the man in an instant, swinging her foot up at his chest. He let out a light grunt as he stumbled back when her foot connected. Not wasting any time, she swiftly landed on her feet and swung a punch straight towards the center of his face. The punch was interrupted as he brought up his forearm to block it, but when the two limbs connected there was a burst of wind and he was sent tumbling backwards through the snow.

Wendy watched as he slowed to a stop about three meters away. It only took a moment for him to stand once again, although this time he was rubbing his right forearm with his opposite hand. "Well, I see that your enchantments have definitely improved."

Clenching her hands as she braced herself, she never took her eyes off his form. The two pairs of eyes only met for a moment longer before she launched forward once again. The glow of the enchantments still shone around her hands and feet, but she could see the light beginning to waver. There wasn't much longer until they would dissipate completely.

Instead of waiting for her like before, Laxus chose to meet her in the middle. Moving in with the flash of lightning, the two were upon each other in an instant. Wendy launched the first punch, which was swiftly blocked by Laxus' arm who retaliated with a fist of his own.

This continued for minutes, with the help of the elements allowing the two mages to move faster than normally possible. Wendy grunted as she felt Laxus' lightning covered fist slam into her exposed stomach. Gritting her teeth, she swung her fist up in retaliation and heard the satisfying crack of her fist meeting his chin in return.

Watching his head whip back from the force of her punch, she quickly took notice of the chance it gave her. Flipping backwards, she swung her foot up right in between his legs and silently winced as he let out the pain-filled scream when her foot connected.

Whipping her feet around to land, she didn't waste a moment in taking a deep breath and letting the wind begin to swirl around her mouth. Spreading her feet to better brace herself, she let her arms swing out behind her as she let out the spell. "Sky Dragon's Roar!" she screamed, putting as much power as she could muster up into the spell.

The tornado that formed was easily twice her size in both height and width. It was upon the lightning mage in an instant, who only managed to raise one arm to defend himself. The twister completely enveloped him and went on to destroy the landscape behind him. Several trees fell as the snow flew about wildly.

Using the time that the attack brought her, she sucked in a bit more of the air around her. The twister was beginning to fade, and to her chagrin she could see his form standing in the distance. He had been pushed back quite a bit and she could barely make out the purple bruise forming on his arm, but he was still standing nonetheless.

Feeling a slight tingle in her arms and legs, she looked down just as the soft glow of the enchantments completely faded away. Once again, her body felt heavy and the pain returned to her worn down arms. Wincing as she flexed her fingers, she tried to force herself to ignore the pain, but it wasn't working.

"So, the enchantments are gone." Laxus spoke, causing her eyes to flick up to him. "It's clear that you've been training just as hard as ever. It's a shame that we weren't able to fight when you were at your full strength."

Unconsciously, her lips curved down into a frown, but she remained silent. Her gaze shifted down to the amulet that was still hanging from his neck. It was clear that he noticed, because he let out a small chuckle and grabbed it with one hand. Ripping it from his neck, Wendy's eyes narrowed as he tossed it into snow between them.

"I know you need it." Brushing aside the pain as she clenched her hands, she never took her eyes off the amulet. "If you can grab it, then you succeed."

Laxus rolled his shoulders and buried his hands into his pockets. She could feel the magical pressure begin to build up around him once again, and within moments lightning was curling around his body. "You will have accomplished your goal once you grab that amulet."

Spreading his arms out to the side, his eyes began to glow a bright blue as the lightning filled them. "So, come on then! Show me just how strong you have become!"

Wendy's eye twitched in slight irritation, but she launched herself forward and reached a hand out to the object sitting in the snow. It was barely an arm's length away before Laxus was upon her. She tried to quickly withdraw her arm, but he grasped it tightly in his right hand. The lightning sent shock waves through her body, causing her to spasm and lose feeling in her right arm.

Before she could do anything else, he lifted her up by the arm and swung her over his shoulder. She felt the light feeling of being airborne for a moment before she was thrown down flat on her back. The impact knocked the wind out of her and she only had a split second to register the pain before Laxus lifted her up by the arm again and buried a fist into her stomach which sent her tumbling through the snow.

She came to stop when her back slammed into a tree. Screaming in pain, her back arched and she clutched her stomach with her left hand. Turning her tear-filled gaze down to her right arm, she cried out when she noticed the bruises and burns travelling down from her elbow to the tips of her fingers.

The pain was unbearable, and she could smell the horrible stench of burnt flesh. Waves of pain flowed from the back to the front of her head. As she looked down at her wounded torso, a few tears escaped and made their way down her cheeks. She let her left arm fall into the snow beside her uncaringly.

She was so close. So close that she could almost touch the wood of the Fairy Tail symbol. Laxus stood beside it, having let the lightning die down once again. She could feel her heart beating in her chest as he stared at her crumpled form. She blinked and the next thing she knew, he was right in front of her with the amulet in hand.

"Do you know what this stands for?"

His voice was muffled, almost sounding as if it was miles away. Her head lolled back against the tree behind her as she tried to speak, but nothing came out. He brought the amulet closer to her face, so that it was right in front of her eyes.

"This symbol stands for our family. For Fairy Tail. But you know that, so why do you continue to fight against it?"

Wendy's eyes narrowed as her lips trembled softly. She knew it was true. It was what Natsu had preached non-stop to his friends and during his fights. It was the same exact lesson that Natsu had taught Laxus on top of the Cathedral all those years ago. But she couldn't go back. She couldn't to lose anyone else close to her.

Wendy gasped in pain, falling to her knees before the taller woman. The bodies of her comrades lay all around her, some moving, while others staying eerily still. She slowly reached out to the man lying in front of her, desperately wanting to help, when she was struck in the back.

Getting the wind knocked out of her, she fell forward onto her forearms. Both arms were shaking, strained with the effort of trying to hold her injured body off the floor. She didn't know what had happened. One minute she had the upper hand fighting the opposing mage, and the next… everyone else was there.

"This will always be your greatest weakness." Wendy slowly turned her head to look at the dark-haired mage standing behind her, shooting a glare in her direction with the corner of her eye. The woman frowned as she continued to twirl the spear in her right hand. "It's a shame to see so much potential goes to waste. If only you'd learn."

Moving faster than Wendy was able to see, the woman hit her side with a powerful kick, sending the smaller girl rolling a few feet away. Spitting out a glob of blood, Wendy slowly turned and faced the woman once again, the feeling of fear growing within her.

The woman raised her hands, motioning to the fallen bodies all around them. "They make you weak! Why can't you see that?" Raising her foot, she slammed one of their faces into the dirt.

"I learned a long time ago. Way before you were even born. And now look at me. I have power many people can only dream of!"

Letting out a deep laugh, the woman switched her gaze back to the young mage. "Just give up. I tried to show you the way, and yet you refused to listen. Now you will die."

Laxus crouched down in front of her, resting his arms on his knees. "You need to let it go. You better than anyone should know that family makes you stronger, not weaker."

Pushing herself closer to the tree, she dug her hands into the snow below. She didn't want to listen to this, all she needed was that amulet. Raising her leg weakly, she lightly kicked against his shin. It didn't move him, nor affect him at all really, but it seemed that he got the message as he stood and took a few steps back.

"Fine." he spoke, tossing the amulet beside her. "I'm not going to waste my time trying to convince someone who won't be listen." Turning away, he began to walk in the direction that she could only assume the camp was in.

Wendy stared down at the amulet beside her hand. Withdrawing her left hand from the snow, she reached over and tentative fingers and grabbed the edge of the wood. The shakily brought it up to her chest and held it against her.

She could achieve her goal. She could take this back to the camp, show everyone that she was strong enough to make it to the last task. Become S-Class and prove to everyone that she was no longer a child, no longer weak.

Her trembling fingers shook against her chest. No. Not like this. She threw the wooden amulet back at the man, who stopped when it landed softly in the snow behind him. Turning his head, his eyes widened slightly at the sight of Wendy standing up behind him, although she was leaning heavily against the tree.

"No!" she yelled, the tears sliding down her cheeks. "How could I expect everyone to think I'm stronger if you just give it to me?!" Not saying a word, Laxus continued to watch her as he turned around fully and crossed his arms over his chest.

Taking a wavering breath, Wendy pushed herself off the tree and stumbled forward a few steps before regaining her balance. "Don't you think that I know that Fairy Tail is my family!?" It wasn't a question, but a statement.

"This was the guild that took me in when Cait Shelter was no more! The first time I had a family who watched over me no matter what!" The air around the small girl began to whip violently, causing her hair and the end of the scarf to whip around in the air.

"But I don't want to lose anyone else! I've been trying to get stronger so that no one has to worry about watching over me anymore." Her voice faded out towards the end of her last words, the trembling in her hands only beginning to worsen the longer she stood. "But no matter what I do, everyone just treats me the same."

The sixteen-year-old girl glared at Laxus with narrowed eyes. And despite her numerous injuries, he could see the ferocity in her eyes. "This is my time to prove you all wrong. To show everyone that I am no longer useless and incapable of defending myself."

Spreading her feet apart and raising her hands up in front of her, a few more tears slid down her cheeks before she wiped them away furiously. "Fight me! I won't give up until I can't s-stand a-anymore!" she yelled, choking out the last words through her tears.

Laxus' eyes narrowed when the girl reached up and stuck her hand underneath the scarf that was wrapped tightly around her neck. Suddenly, there was a red glow around her body as the air around her swirled upward, forming a large twister around the girl. The trees around them began to sway violently and he took a wary step back as he dropped his hands to his sides.

The once serious look that had been spread across his face had disappeared entirely, making way for one of disbelief. The magical pressure around the girl seemingly tripled, causing his frown to deepen. He didn't know what was causing this, but he wasn't sure if he was going to like finding out the answer.

His eyes widened in surprise as the snow began to rapidly melt around them, revealing the rocky terrain below. And before he could blink, the twister erupted into flames. The fire shot high into the sky, with embers flying throughout the air and falling to the ground below.

Switching his gaze away from the flaming twister, he was barely able to make out the girl's body below. She still stood in the middle of the storm, her fists clenched and engulfed in flames as she stared at him. But what concerned him the most was the literal fire that was burning in her narrowed eyes.

Taking a few small steps back, Laxus summoned the lightning around himself once again. This time, he didn't attempt to control the element and bolts of lightning shot down from the sky and began to strike the ground around him.

The two element users stared each other down across the clearing, with each refusing to give in to the other. Despite matching the girl in power, Laxus couldn't stop the small puddle of doubt from beginning to form in the pit of his stomach. He still remembered the last time he had seen a fusion of dragon slaying elements, and the power had been overwhelming.

Bracing himself, he shoved aside his doubts and allowed for a small smirk to settle across his face. She had achieved what only one other mage before her had done. The perfect fusion of two elements within one being. The young Wendy Marvell had become the Fire-Sky Dragon.

Edited 8/27/18

Once again, thanks for all the favorites, follows, and reviewers (valpix755, Dragon Lord Draco, Unlucky Alis, zubhanwc3, Blazing Sky Dragon King).