Hi! The first snows of the season fall on my city as I get ready to start the writing of a fight centered around cold and ice. Coincidence ?
.
..
…
Yes.
Anyway, let us not linger. I hope you all had a nice Halloween ! Also, thank you for every of your return. It's always pleasant to see that you like this fic.
Before starting, I would like to make a small reaction on the previous chapter, in particular on Lucy's attitude. I had returns of people which had found Lucy really OOC and I can only recognize that it is the case. I should have warned you of this OOC, it is an error I'm deeply sorry of. But I also wanted to show that Lucy, divided between her feelings for Natsu and her decision to put them aside, was not really herself at the time. But things will get better between them.
And now, let's go !
Ah! And I am not the owner of Fairy Tail, only Ragnar and the Strizers belongs to me.
Chapter 21 : Alert : hail and hoarfrost.
In the North, the cold is one of the biggest danger one can face. Without enough preparation or clothes, it is easy to die from the cold temperature, frozen up to your bones. Well, it is only true if you're a normal human being. Which was not the case of 3 of 4 people now facing each other on this ice-cold plain by the sea. Indeed, being the Fire Dragon Slayer, Natsu had an abnormally high body temperature which allowed him to walk half naked in a snowstorm without any problems. Gray, due to his training, had developed a form of immunity to the cold and Ragnar, being the Strizer controlling ice, among other things, had the same kind of resistance. Happy wasn't as lucky as them, because even if his fur was sufficient to keep him warm, it was not as developed when he was in his human form like now. There was also a 5th person present. Juvia, basically kidnapped by the Strizer, was still unconscious, ironically shielded from the cold by the big ice-made jar of some sort. By her side was a small golden key which shone through the ice. On the psychological plan, they were all ready to fight, except Natsu who seemed to have difficulty in analyzing the situation.
- "How's that a trap ?" He wondered. "It is just a coincidence !"
- "Think a little, moron !" Shouted Gray, Natsu's stubbornness starting to get in his nerves. "A mission like that was too good to be true. She sent to you right into a trap !"
- "But why would she do that after helping me so much ? Stop saying dumb things, ice prick !"
- "Stop arguing, both of you ! It's not the moment for that !" Happy had intervened to try to defuse the situation but neither of them listened to him and the Strizer took advantage of the situation.
FROST WOLVES BITES !
Several wolves made of translucent ice arose suddenly from nowhere and rushed at the mages and Exceed who, too busy with their little quarrel, didn't have the opportunity to dodge and were bitten by the frosty animals, the wounds they received freezing immediately, causing chilblains to appear on the wounds.
- "Whether this is a trap or not, I think you have more urgent problem to settle." Reminded the Strizer by watching the mages getting up to look in his direction. He pointed at the jar where Juvia was still laying with the key, a vision which reminded the 2 mages that they indeed had things more important to do : saving Juvia, getting back the key and while they were at it, beating that guy. When the mages finally stood up, they looked each other and with a simple nod, they agreed on the same thing : this trap thing will wait. And they were going to make up for the time they lost with Ragnar.
ICE MAKE : LANCES !
Gray called upon his magic to throw spears made of ice to his opponent who did not move, grabbing the chains which he had around his waist and made them swirl like whips, the ice spears breaking against them, like they were reduced to dust in their contact. This way of fighting made Happy do a remark while he began flying above them.
- "For a Strizer, you're not using your elemental power a lot." Noticed Happy before rushing towards Ragnar, still occupied with stopping Gray spears. But Ragnar had a quality which was going to cause them trouble.
He had no problem fighting on several fronts at the same time.
So, he stopped swirling one of his chains, accelerating the movement with the other one to compensate, then pointed a finger at the Exceed.
FREEZE RAY !
A light blue ray looking like a pressured water gun touched one of Happy's wings which rendered him unable to fly, thus falling down straight to the ground. From his part, Ragnar struck the ground between Gray's feet with his unused chain, breaking the ice and making the mage lose his footing who then had to stop his attack, while sending his other chain wrap up around the neck of Happy that he then spun like an athlete doing a hammer throw before throwing him at Gray, sending both fairies to the ground. On his side, Natsu had prepared his own offensive.
- " If you control ice, then I'll just have to melt it. "
FIRE DRAGON'S ROAR !
ICEBERG BARRIER !
The river of flames collided with a thick wall of ice which had just raised itself on the fire way. A cloud of vapor of an impressive size rose because of the ice which had gone from solid state to gaseous in an instant, testifying of the heat of flames, but without destroying the wall which remained globally intact.
- " And here I believed that with all this past fight against Gray you would have learnt that flames do not always easily win against ice, moreover when it's a magic made ice. " Said Ragnar, his look still devoid of emotions. " Furthermore, I would be a really mediocre Strizer of the cold if I couldn't handle a little heat and flames. "
ICE FANGS RUSH !
Ragnar then struck the wall of ice which broke in a thick cloud of ice shards which were thrown towards the dragon, his body heat melting the thin pieces of ice, but creating by the same a cloud of vapor which Ragnar known how to use.
FROSTBITE CHAIN STRAIGTH !
Ragnar had appears from inside the vapor, striking Natsu in the face with a right jab, fist covered with chains which seemed to have become of an azure color and seemingly smoking, the contact of the chains freezing his skin at the time, the chilblain eating away the skin of the pinkette which was throw backward, landing near the river. Ragnar, spinning his chains in his hands like a rotor, approached Natsu and threw one of them towards the dragon. Who managed to intercept the attack with one bare hand, smiling with a certain sadism before plunging his other unused hand, red hot, into the water of the river. The shock due to the sudden difference of temperature provoked an explosion of vapor which surrounded the Strizer and before he's got the time to do anything at all, Happy, back in his normal form, appeared and caught one of his chains, using his speed to wrap him up to block his arms before he could do anything and took off with him, offering him a roller coaster ride for free before diving towards the ground where Gray and Natsu were waiting for them, side by side ready to receive the Strizer. Happy, which had fallen straight ahead towards the ground, turned suddenly when he got close to the ground heading toward his friends, the momentum sending the Strizer crashing into the ground before being dragged in the ice, heading toward the mages.
FIRE DRAGON'S IRON FIST !
ICE MAKE : GAUNTLET !
Happy passed between both of his friends as they called on to their respective magics, Natsu lighting his fist on fire whereas Gray covered his own with a huge glove made of ice, looking like a miniature version of Vambrace. When the Strizer reached their level, they attacked at the same time, striking Ragnar in the face which made him do an impressive series of backflip before crashing down heavily on the ground, the chains beginning to loosen while he got up, his face all bloodied, but without expressing the slightest emotion. Which almost annoyed the mages.
- " You could at least pretend that this is pissing you off. " Spat Gray, obtaining no answer from Ragnar who stretched his arms, a fog wrapping his body.
FOG ZONES : INFINITY ICE RINK !
Clapping his hands, the fog threw itself on the mages and Exceed who found themselves within one second surrounded with a mist so thick that they couldn't even see where they were anymore. In addition to that, the ground had become much more slippery, which made their footings really unstable.
- " What is that now ? " Asked Gray, not reassured at the idea of, basically, fighting without sight.
- " You can ask the question to Natsu. " Answered Ragnar, but his voice had echoed as if it came from everywhere around him. "He has already got through something like that if I remember well. "
Natsu needed a moment to think, the answer blocked for a moment in his head before he finally remember. A memory about a forest and a certain plant controlling cook.
- " The cook. The first Strizer whom we faced, he had a similar trap, but it was a forest. "
- " Exactly. But I doesn't use it like he did. Why wait outside when you can be a part of the fun ? " Answered Ragnar.
- " We just have been plunged into a mist, it's not as if it was some poison. " Happy said, trying to feel reassured, but he was quickly put back in his place by a stalactite which struck him in the back, and when he turned around to see what it was, slashing at the mist but touching nothing. " What ? But where did it came from ? "
- " Be wary of the devil. He is hidden in the mist. " The Strizer philosophized before unleashing his element.
Soon, all the prisoners of the mist were attacked by ice shards, most of them shaped likes spikes, which seemed to appear out of nowhere, and more than that, the ground regularly bristled with spikes to add a dose of suffering to this foggy nightmare. They tried nevertheless to strike every time they were attacked, but they never touched anything, or when they did, they attacked each other. While they were being plundered with ice cubes, Natsu remembered of the whispering forest and the plants which had attacked them and then realized a thing. The ice fragments, like the plants, didn't came out from nowhere.
- " Guys, I think that this ice is coming from the mist itself. " Natsu's theory was welcomed by applauses which resounded in the fog.
- " Well done. I am amazed that YOU understood that. " It was Ragnar, whose exact position was still unknown. " The fog is in fact made of water droplets and ice crystals suspended in the air. If I freeze them, I can then use it to attack. Which means you are literally prisoner of my power. "
The Strizer was in the fog, seeing clearly his opponents through the mist thanks to the heat their body were emitting. He was taking his time to calculate his next move when he noticed that a heat signature was missing.
NEKO CLAW SLASHER !
In an instant, he understood where the absentee was but he was too late. Happy had appears behind him, slashing him in his back with his sharp magic enhanced claws.
- " You talked about joining the party. That necessarily meant that you were somewhere inside the fog. And I'm not the one to usually stroke my own ego, but I have a rather sharp sense of smell and not only for fishes. "
The feline and the Strizer then start fighting, Happy defending himself rather well, also trying to do as much noise as possible, but regrettably his opponent had the advantage of fighting in a place in knew better than him, what allowed him to quickly get the upper hand on the anthropomorphic cat. But fortunately for the latter, the reinforcements didn't took long to arrive.
FIRE DRAGON'S CLAW !
Once again taken by surprise, Ragnar received a flaming drop kick in the stomach from Natsu, the flames burning his skin but he managed to stay on-the-spot, plunging his feet in the ice on which they evolved since a few minutes ago. Which would have been a good idea if there had been no new intervention after what.
ICE BLADE : SEVEN SLICE DANCE !
Gray appeared too, in this technique typical stance, blades ready to be used on his forearm, swirling on himself to strike the Strizer 7 times with his blades, the strength of the assault taking the Strizer out of the ground, sending him crash on the ground a little farther. When he looked up towards the mages, the latter were delighted to see he was finally reacting, his eyes reflecting a certain annoyance.
- " How were you able to find me ? " He wondered, at the same time intrigued and annoyed. " For Happy to spot me, I can understand, but not you. "
- " Why did you think Happy did so much noises ? " The answer came out of Gray, which smiled derisively, which did not pleased the blond that much.
- " You have to learn not to get on your high horses every time you put one of us on our knees. That will eventually came back at you. "
SNOW SWEEPING BURST !
Ragnar, still on his knees, spun on himself, arms stretched out towards the outside which threw an enormous quantity of snow which repelled the mages and whereas they struggled to get out of the thick layer of snow under which they were now buried, Ragnar covered himself one more time with mist, but this one felt different.
FOG ZONES : SNOWY HAILSTORM HELL !
The fog, which was already very thick, became even more thick, which gave the mages the impression that they were blind, but it was not the biggest problem. A powerful icy wind got up, carrying with him thick snowflakes and hailstones which were as big as golf balls. The whole thing began swirling like a cyclone and the fairies found themselves being bombarded from everywhere, rendering them unable to do anything. Especially that besides the storm, Ragnar continued to bombard them with shards of ice coming from the mist and the cherry on the cake, the wind blurred the smells which makes the only means they had to spot him unusable.
- " RAH ! If you're still in this damned fog, then I am going to force you to show yourself ! " Roared Natsu, his anger, for once under control, amplifying his heat while he filled his lungs with air.
FIRE DRAGON'S SWEEPING ROAR !
Natsu then blow his usual jet of flames, but this time it was used differently, Natsu spinning on himself, sweeping the mist covered zone, Gray and Happy being forced to lay on the ground to dodge the attack, but Ragnar did the same, waiting simply for the dragon to stop his offensive, which came sooner than he thought. Natsu was trying to get his breath back when he felt his body becoming numb suddenly. Looking down, he saw that ice began to climb up his legs, immobilizing him and when he tried to melt this ice, the water refroze almost immediately every time he melted it, making it even more solid every time. In front of him, he saw the mist gathering in a unique point, forming a wide picket of ice, aimed straight at him. He struggled even more, without knowing that Happy and Gray were in the same situation. And while everything seemed desperate, an event which nobody would have been able to plan happen.
WATER TSUNAMI !
Ragnar, which got ready to carry the deathblow to the mages, turned his head to the origin of the shout, finding himself, as he expected it, facing more mist. What he wasn't ready for on the other hand was for the mist to suddenly be repelled by a big wave which swept everything on its wake, included himself. In a matter of a few seconds only, the prison of mist had disappeared and the 2 mages, 1 Exceed and 1 Strizer were laid out on the ground, wet but alive. What took them by surprise, was that this water was hot. When they raised their head, they felt a mixture of incomprehension and relief, the last one not concerning Ragnar. Up next to the urn in which she was supposed to be, was Juvia, apparently not very happy, pointing at the bearded Strizer with a furious gaze.
- " IT IS YOU WHO HURT MY GRAY ?! "
- " Yeah. And why does it matter ? " Answered Ragnar, seemingly not giving a fuck.
SIERRA JIGSAW !
Juvia, beside herself, changed in water bouillonnante and threw itself on Strizer, its aqueous body swirling as a drill, but Ragnar was not more impressed and prepared a defense.
ICEBERG BARRIER !
The same wall of ice which had held Natsu later appeared between the Strizer and the water mage, which didn't stop at all. But Ragnar was confident: if a fire dragon had not been able to drill this wall, a drill made of water won't succeed.
Except that she did.
- "Ah !"
A very simple reaction on behalf of a man who just saw his wall, which he thought unbreakable, be pierced like a wall made of wool by a spray of water. Spray of water which didn't stop there and collided with him quite hard. He could feel the whirlwind beginning to drill the skin of his rib cage, but even without that, the boiling water which burned his skin which had become bright red, which was worse than the rest, tearing away a growl of pain while he was thrown in the river, Juvia taking advantage of it to rush at Gray.
- "Gray ! Are you alright ? Juvia is sorry for the tsunami."
- "It's nothing. You did well. But what did you do to destroy that mist so easily ?" He asked, obtaining an answer from Happy who had just approached them.
- "If this technique is the same as the forest Strizer, then that had to be a kind of dimensional pocket, a prison which has a definite size but which extends in the inside to keep his victims prisoners." Proposed Happy, trying to find an explanation. "From the outside, she had to have a fixed size and an attack from Juvia broke her."
- "It is cool and all that, but that does not explain how you were able to go out of your prison." This time, it was Natsu who had asked a completely justifiable question this time. But Juvia didn't have much more information than them.
- "Juvia was woken by a strong heat. Juvia understood what was happening and she intervened. But she was laid down next to that."
By saying it, she hold the golden key which was by her side in the jar. Natsu opened wide eyes and tried to seize it but regrettably, he didn't have time. A chain had come in the middle of the group, winding around the key and tearing it away from Juvia's hand. At the other end of the chain, they found Ragnar, who just came out of the water, key in hand.
- "Sorry, but I need this key to keep you motivate to fight." Began the Strizer. "I admit that I did not expect for Natsu to free Juvia and that she joins the party, but I'll do with it."
- "How's that, I freed her ?" Repeated Natsu, surprised by the Strizer assertion. "And how did I do that ?"
- " When you swept the mist with your flames. " Answered Ragnar before explaining more. " Our dimensional pockets depend on a physical element. For Vincenzo's whispering forest, he needs to have plants. For my mist, those are droplets of water or ice crystals. Your breath evaporated it enough to slightly pierce the pocket and your breath reached the prison, melting it and waking Juvia thanks to the heat. "
- " Ah Okay. " Answered Natsu before turning to Gray, a slightly derisive smile on his lips. " So this means that I saved your girlfriend, you are then indebted to me. So you'll help me to get this key back. "
- " Yeah, yeah, right. If I help you to get the key, that will be for Lucy and not for you. " Answered Gray by turning to Juvia, whose face was showing a certain concern. "What is it, Juvia ? Is there a problem ?"
- " It's this key. I have a funny presentiment about it. "
- " What you … "
Gray didn't have time to finish his question that the air became suddenly much more colder. Turning to the source, which was the Strizer, the mages saw that he was surrounded with a halo of white and sky blue light, his chains rolled up around his forearms and which had also become sky blue, smoking of hoarfrost.
COLD EMPEROR : ABSOLUTE ZERO !
The witches looked at him suspiciously. It was so much cold that same Gray and Natsu shivered.
SIERRA SLICER !
Still in her boiling water shape, Juvia threw a blade of water at the Strizer but when it reached him, he raised a hand towards the blade which froze immediately when it came in contact with it. But he didn't stop there. He stretched a hand towards Juvia and threw a wave of cold air which Juvia didn't completely dodge, her foot being touched and frozen immediately, making her cry in pain. She had been frozen on at least one centimeter of skin.
- " The absolute zero. The coldest temperature that exists. A temperature so low even atoms stop moving. I could only advise you to pay attention if you don't want to end up transforming into shaved ice. "
Although aware of the danger, the mages had no other choices that to fight nevertheless, giving up not being part of their vocabulary.
ICE MAKE : COLD EXCALIBUR !
Calling upon a large sword made of ice, Gray tried to strike the Strizer but he was so cold that the sword shattered in an instant when it touched the Strizer, the latter having basically froze Gray's ice. But before Ragnar could reach and touch Gray, another attack diverted his attention.
DRAGON SLAYER'S SECRET ART : CRIMSON LOTUS : EXPLODING FLAME BLADE !
A deluge of scarlet flames ran down on the Strizer which was wrapped with fire, fire that burned for a few seconds but as quickly that they had appeared, the flames were frozen, taking the dragon by surprise, but it offered another opportunity to attack to Gray who reused Cold Excalibur. However this time, Ragnar caught the blade in his hands and needed a few seconds to freeze the sword. By seeing this, Gray realized something then grabbed Natsu, dragging him away from the Strizer, joining Happy and Juvia.
- " What the hell are you doing, ice queen ? We have to fight that guy ! "
- " Listen to me at least, ash breath. I have a plan. "
Gray explained his plan to the others, who shook their head to show their approval, even Natsu who understood the interest of this plan.
- " So, is that okay with you, flame brain ? "
- " I'll concede, it's not a bad plan, the exhibitionist. Just this time, I'll follow you. "
After that, they got ready and got into position. Ragnar was watching them doing, waiting for the first attack, which was not the one he thought would be the first to come.
SIERRA CYCLONE !
Juvia called upon an huge whirlwind of boiling water which went to strike the Strizer who seemed almost disappointed by the choice of the mages. He raised a hand, ready to stop the attack, who began freezing, even if the was so hot that it was resisting a lot, when another offensive diverted his attention.
FIRE DRAGON KING'S ROAR !
Natsu, drawing from the power of the fire dragon king that he had in him, blew an enormous burst of flame on the Strizer, on the opposite side of the water, forcing Ragnar to counter an attack with each hand, reducing its efficiency. But the worst for him was that he was stuck between scorching water on one side and super-hot flames on the other, which was what the mages wanted to do. Everything worked according to Gray's plan.
- " It's working ! Like you said it would. " Noticed Happy, Gray smiling at that.
- " I noticed that he had had more difficulty freezing my sword after Natsu's attack. Because of that, I said to myself that if we increased his temperature, his freezing ability would be less effective. And I was right. Furthermore, he can't divert his attention away from Natsu and Juvia because if he do, he'll be struck by their attack. Which means that we have an opening at last. It's your turn Happy. Go get him !"
Indeed, he could see that Ragnar had more and more difficulty to hold out, sweat dripping on his forehead, clear sign that it was the moment to send the next assault. Happy took a run-up, rushing at the Strizer, claws shining with magic.
NEKO CROSS SLASHER !
Unable to defend himself, Ragnar was struck quite hard by the Exceed's claws, wide cross shaped gashes appearing on his torso and being thrown backward, his arms slightly burned by the flames and boiling water he couldn't hold back, landing on the ground. But not for a long time.
SIERRA SWIRLING LOCK !
Ragnar had no time to understand what was happening that he was locked in a wide sphere of boiling water, so hot as he had difficulty in freezing anything, added to the fact that the bubbles was swirling, disorientating him. But it did not prevent him from seeing what was preparing for him outside. Namely Gray and Natsu taking both a deep breath, filling their lungs with air and magic.
COLD FIRE DEVIL DRAGON'S RAGING ROAR !
Both mages merged their attacks, creating a single projection of flames and ice which crossed the ice-cold battleground and which engulfed the Strizer, sending him crashing into the huge ice blocks hampering the mouth of the river, the explosion shockwave creating waves which submerged the shores, small pebbles of ice raining on the surrounding, including the mages who weren't bothered at all by that strange rain. They thought that it was done and that they could go back, but Ragnar reappeared, covered with bruises and with wounds. He was not at his best, but was still ready to fight.
- " It was well thought and done, I admit it. But I have more than one trick up my sleeves. You'll need much more than that if you want to … "
*CRASH* The characteristic noise of a body crashing on the ground interrupted the Strizer and drew the attention of everyone towards a cloud of snow and ice lifted by this impact that came out of nowhere. And what got out of it paralyzed the faeries.
3 creatures with coal colored bodies had just appeared. They had a relatively human like body, relatively small with 2 arms and 2 legs, but the hands were endowed with only 3 fingers, just like their feet, with light gray nails. Their lengthened head that looked like xenomorphs heads, were endowed with 3 yellow eyes arranged in a triangle which seemed to scan their surroundings. The mages didn't know what to think of the newly arrived creature that they could only identify as monsters.
- " No, it's not true. Why now ?"
The mages had been so surprised by the arrival of those monsters that they had almost forgotten the Strizer, and when they looked at him, they were taken by surprise one more time. Ragnar had his eyes gazing at the three monsters, which he seemed to know and was apparently not happy to see them here.
- " What the hell are those things ? " Asked Natsu, addressing Ragnar who turned his head as if he just remembered that he was not here alone before turning his attention back on monsters.
- " They are scouts. And the fact that they are here is not good. "
At this precise moment, the 3 scouts turned their head to the Strizer, their eyes turning red when they saw him and thrown themselves at him, their eyes shooting lasers at Ragnar who, chains in hands, rushed at them, intercepting the shootings with his chains.
FROST CHAINS !
When he reached them, his chains covered with hoarfrost, the creatures stopped shootings, their nails growing to long claws. The mages observed Ragnar facing the 3 creatures which, after a few minutes, had all been killed. The first one had his head totally frozen which had burst like glass, the second one pierced by one of the chains whose extremity had been covered with an ice spike and the third one had been cut in 2 at the waist, which had been frozen before being broken in two, enclosed by one of the chains in a mortal embrace. After that, the Strizer remained a moment looking at the 3 corpses before sighing, a hand on his wounds, turning to the mages.
- " Well, change of plan. It was a pleasure meeting and fighting you all, but I'll have to go back now. "
- " Wait a second. What EXACTLY were those things ? " Asked Gray, not satisfied only knowing that those were scouts.
- " I already said it. Scouts. And I suppose that you are intelligent enough to know to what kind of role a scout have. " Sighed Ragnar. " I'm going to have to report what I have just seen. As a result, I'm not going to hold you here any longer. "
He took the golden key out of his pocket and threw it towards the mages, Natsu catching it while it was coming at him. But when he finally had it between his hands, he felt that there was a problem. This key had something strange. Doubt overtaking his mind, he made his hands super-hot and in a matter of seconds, the key began melting. Natsu looked at it with big eyes, thinking about everything and ending up admitting that Gray might have been right.
- " It was all a trap ? "
- " You see. What did I told you ? " Answered Gray.
- " The mention alone of the golden key was enough to make you come, but I wanted to get a replica just in case you would have been accompanied by less naïve people. " Explained Ragnar with a small smile, Natsu too shocked to notice the insult on his naivety.
- " So I was also right. Rachel is one of you." Asserted Gray, confidently.
- "It's up to you to figure that out. She could only be an accomplice." Simply answered the blond. "Anyway, I have to leave you. So this is goodbye. And who knows. The next time we shall see each other, we could be on the same side."
And after this last rather mysterious sentence, he disappeared in a screen of mist, leaving the mages behind them. The latter exchanged an intrigued look. They will have to clear up things. But a thing was sure : the Strizers were hiding something and that could change everything.
And 21 ! I hope that you liked that chapter. So we discovered something new about the Strizers. What are those monsters ? What do they want ? Are they going to change the way the Strizers are perceived by the mages ? You'll have to read the suite of the story to discover it.
See you !
Next time : Reconciliation. Multiple disappearances. A threat made of glass and gemstones.