It's Mermaid Monday! Oh, wow, you guys, we're coming up on the end...
Keep in mind that Juvia does not know what Gray decided yet. And after his line of questioning, she has it in her head that rejection is inevitable, which is where we pick up this week.
guest: It worked, tee-hee! I was sort of hoping I'd distract you long enough that it wouldn't be super obvious where I was going with it. (Actually, I was really hoping that you'd assume I might actually kill-off Gray... yeah, I don't think anyone bought it. XD) Thanks again!
- K. Chandler
"Gray?" Juvia's head snapped up, uncertainty fluttering in her chest.
A crooked smile pulled at Gray's mouth. "I just got you back. You really think I'm just going to let you go?"
"But I used to be one of them," she protested weakly, trying to pull away from him.
"I don't care about that," he said, tightening his hand around hers firmly.
"You don't?" she whispered.
He shook his head. "I know you now, too," said Gray, his voice warm. "Whatever happens, I'm not letting Jose take you," he promised.
Very cute, Captain. But will you two hurry it up? Cana's voice echoed through Juvia's head.
"That's Cana's voice!" exclaimed Juvia.
"You heard her too?" asked Gray.
That's the way it works. Are you two holding hands or something? Because I was only supposed to get the Captain, but I can hear both of you.
"And just how much did you hear, Cana?" he growled.
…Enough. But this time the voice wasn't Cana's. Good to hear you and your little strumpet have reconciled.
"Lyon!" barked Gray. "Just who all is on here?"
Warren Rocko, sir. Glad you're well.
It's Levy. I'm on too.
"Why did you call us all together?" asked Gray.
Levy was the one who responded. We can't keep this up. We have to take the Phantom Lord out. Now.
"Knightwalker said that we couldn't touch him. Like he was shielded or something," said Gray.
Well, he shouldn't be anymore. Levy's voice was impatient. Trust me on this. With Juvia's contract fulfilled, you should be able to attack him now. So hit him with all you've got! If you can get him, even just once, we can take care of the rest.
Her contract was fulfilled? How? She didn't feel any different. Was Levy sure about that? And what did she mean about taking care of the rest? Juvia had so many questions, but this wasn't the time.
"Understood," said Gray, not one to question orders. "I'll need everyone to provide cover fire."
You got it, Captain. Warren and I will let the others know. Cana out!
Lyon chimed in too. Be careful, idiot. We're counting on you.
Gray turned to Juvia. "You need to get somewhere safe," he said. "Levy and Lyon are hiding in the galley if you want to join them."
"I'm coming with you," she insisted.
"Juvia, no. That's crazy!" he said.
"The Phantom Lord is my problem, said Juvia. "If it wasn't for my deal with him—"
"And the deal that Lucy's dad made," Gray reminded her. "That's why he showed up in the first place."
"—this wouldn't be happening. You're crazy if you think I'll let you go without me," she said stubbornly.
"What kind of man would let his woman face this sort of danger?"
"What kind of woman would let her man face this sort of danger alone? Gray, darling. I'm a capable warrior, just like you are."
Gray looked hesitant, his shoulders visibly tense.
"You know what I can do. You've fought against me, remember?" she asked gently.
"I do," he said with a reluctant sigh. "Together, then?" he asked, extending his hand to her.
She smiled. "Together," agreed Juvia.
Juvia followed Gray as they fought their way across the crowded deck. He stopped them before they reached the side of the ship.
"Right here," said Gray. "Any closer and he'll notice us."
"Do you think we can get him from here?" asked Juvia.
Gray chuckled, grinning crookedly. "Oh, we've got this." He pressed his palm to hers, interlacing their fingers. Then he pulled her close.
Her magic surged within her chest, soothingly familiar. The chill of Gray's ice made her skin prickle as his powers mingled with hers. A vortex of ice and water formed, whipping around them.
Gray guided their joined hands forward, pointing at Jose. He gave her a sharp nod, unleashing his magic into their combined attack. Juvia did the same, pouring all of her power into her connection with Gray.
Energy exploded from their hands. The rush of piercing ice and slicing water shot forth, engulfing Jose in the unyielding torrent, knocking him backwards. He landed in the ocean with a mighty splash that rocked the entire.
Jose gave an angry snarl. "What? No! That's not possible. This shouldn't have—"
"There's more where that came from, Jose!" shouted Juvia. She raised her hands in preparation to strike him again.
"If it isn't Miss Juvia," Jose snarled. "Looks like I can claim both of you at once. Convenient."
Jose made it sound like running into her was his good fortune, but Juvia knew better. This was just another one of his games. The Phantom Lord was too manipulative to leave anything up to chance. He had planned to take her all along.
"You have no claim over either of these girls," shouted Levy, surprising everyone by bursting onto deck. "Your time is up, Phantom Lord!"
"Levy?" mumbled Juvia. Was this what she meant by taking care of things?
"That's preposterous!" he said. Jose rose out of the ocean, floating high above Gray's ship. His cloak fluttered around him. "I own those two."
"If I was wrong, we wouldn't have been able to hit you," said Levy. "But if you still don't believe me, we can prove it."
"How?" snarled Jose.
Lyon emerged from the galley. "Fiore Law," he said, his expression stony.
"That's your plan?! Lyon, don't be stupid!" yelled Gray.
"Shut up, Gray." Lyon brought his hands together, a ball of blue light glowing between them.
Jose backed away, his eyes wild. "You're joking."
Juvia could feel the ship rocking as the air pulsed with magic. Gray looked like he wanted to bolt, run over and knock some sense into his cousin. Juvia wrapped her arms around one of Gray's, anchoring him. She'd never heard of the spell the prince was planning to use, but it felt dangerous.
"Am I?" asked Lyon, pausing only a moment before starting into the incantation, "I call upon the ancient forces that rule the land and seas. Come forth—"
Jose's eyes widened, a flicker of fear flashing through them. He gave an angry snarl when he saw how serious Prince Lyon was. "Today's victory is yours. But don't think you've heard the last of me," he hissed.
In a flourish of cloak and shadow, the Phantom Lord dissolved into nothingness, fog and shades and dark water vanishing along with him.
The sky, clear again, was tinged with the velvety purples of twilight.
With a sigh, Lyon let his hands drop, his relief palpable. "Rather fortunate that he didn't call my bluff."
"You were bluffing?" asked Gray, eyebrows raised incredulously.
"Of course, I was. What sort of fool did you take me for?"
"And what would you have done if it didn't work?" seethed Gray.
"You trust your team. Likewise, I trust mine," said Lyon. "Miss McGarden is seldom wrong."
Levy bowed her head humbly. "Thank you, sire."
"How did you know that would work?" Juvia asked. "And what about my contract with Jose? I'm… confused," she admitted.
"It was a hunch, actually," said Levy. "Since the Phantom Lord seemed to enjoy contracts, I figured the only way to defeat him was to beat him at his own game."
"Perhaps you'd best start from the beginning," said Lyon as the others started to gather around.
Levy nodded. "Magical contracts are binding," explained Levy. "While the contract is in effect, there are clauses that protect both parties to keep things from getting out of hand. It's sort of like a nonaggression clause. Because of this, it would have been pointless for him to try and attack anyone he had an active contract with."
Juvia's eyes widened. So that was why he had floated right by her when he first appeared! He'd been ignoring her because he knew he couldn't touch her.
"Is that why our attacks on him were ineffective?" asked Erza.
"That's right. But once Juvia's contract was broken, attacking him was fair game. And Jose knew that, so one hit was enough to prove it."
"So, you had the prince threaten him with a spell that would actually hurt him…" said Jellal, nodding. "Very clever."
"I wasn't sure what it would take to actually injure the Phantom Lord. He's pretty powerful. So I figured I'd start at the top with Fiore Law," said Levy.
"Makes sense," Gray nodded. "Though it was still stupid."
"You've really outdone yourself this time, Miss McGarden," praised Lyon.
"But how did you know that Jose didn't have actual claim to Juvia and Lucy?" asked Gray. "If he had, your plan wouldn't have worked."
"It was pretty simple, actually," shrugged Levy. "I reviewed a copy of Juvia's contact with Jose. All Juvia had to do was prove that the captain was in love with her. She met the terms the moment Gray got shot in the chest. Once I saw that, I knew we could finish him off."
"I thought it said I had to kiss him," mumbled Juvia, her face impossibly hot.
"Not necessarily," said Levy. "That was just the easiest way, assuming you both meant it. It would have been a lot less messy than having the captain almost die protecting you."
"I don't understand," said Juvia.
"A man would hardly die to protect a woman he didn't love," shrugged Levy.
Cana elbowed Gray in the ribs, grinning insolently at his sour expression.
"We were just lucky you had your powers back," said Levy. "Can you imagine what would have happened to the captain if you didn't?"
Juvia shuddered at the thought, but she felt a little better when Gray gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.
"What about Lucy?" interrupted Natsu. He and Lucy had finally joined the group. He was limping, his arm tucked around Lucy's shoulders. "If this guy's so smart, he would have known not to mess with her either."
Levy shook her head. "By the time Jose showed up, he already lost his claim on her."
"So, wait. All that stuff about Lucy's soul…" asked Natsu.
"All a bluff," said Levy. "He wouldn't have been able to take her. That was actually where I got the idea that we should bluff him back."
"But… what about the deal my dad made?" protested Lucy. "Was that for real?"
"I think so," said Levy. "But it wasn't binding. While it is legal for a parent to enter a legal agreement on behalf of their child, the law in Fiore does not allow convicted felons this protection," she explained, one finger held up as if giving a lecture. "You were free the minute your father was arrested. Both of him, and of his deal. You're legally independent now, Lucy."
"So Jude Heartfilia was just another part of the Phantom Lord's plan," said Jellal, appearing next to Erza.
"That was my guess," said Levy. "It was a loophole in the 'nonaggression' that allowed him to get at Juvia."
"Impressive work," said Erza, nodding.
"Very," agreed Lyon, nodding. "When we get back, I'm increasing your research budget, Miss McGarden."
"I'm just glad we didn't wreck another ship," said Gray. "Somehow I don't think that's in the budget."
"Agreed. I would not have forgiven you so easily this time," said Lyon.
"What are you talking about?" huffed Gray. "We just saved the day."
"I don't have to buy Captain Knightwalker a new ship every time she saves the day. If I did, I'd have to make her an admiral with as many ships as she'd have!"
Erza tilted her chin smugly.
"Whatever," Gray snorted, crossing his arms. "I want to hear you say that the next time I'm busy saving your sorry hide."
"Who saved who, now?" asked Lyon harshly. "I was the one who actually sent the Phantom Lord away."
"By pretending to use magic. After hiding in the galley for the entire battle!"
"What does it matter how I did it? It worked, didn't it?"
"Because it was Levy's idea!"
"So all's well that ends well," said Cana brightly. "This calls for drinks! Anyone else?"
Silently, Jellal extended a hand to Erza, who accepted with a shrug.
"Lucy?" asked Natsu.
"Sure," she said.
"Did you want to go?" Gray asked Juvia.
"Actually, there's somebody I want you to meet," said Juvia. She would have to introduce Gajeel to Gray eventually. Now seemed like a pretty good time.
So how 'bout that Unison Raid, huh? XD That's a big one for them in canon, so I also wanted to use it here. Having Gray and Juvia work together as equals was also hugely important for me. No more secrets, no more power dynamic, none of the opposite sides stuff.
Hopefully this chapter also explains some of the weirdness that I've sprinkled into the last few chapters (Jose ignoring Juvia... which was intentional; Jose being invulnerable; the Jude and Lucy connection, etc.) Hopefully nothing felt too out of the blue. I want to be unexpected, but not ridiculous, so I've been trying to drop hints for the last 5-7 chapters.
As for getting rid of Jose, I was inspired by the actual Phantom arc in canon. Given that Makarov rose from his sickbed to one-shot Jose with the Deus Ex-Machina that was Fairy Law, I didn't have a lot to work with. I tried to get around that by not actually using the spell, and falling back to the whole theme of contracts and loopholes. I also wanted to pay homage to the Galuna Island arc. With the number of times Gray and Lyon fake each other out with Iced Shell, I thought an aborted forbidden spell was fitting.
Plus, since he's not actually dead, that gives us the option for a sequel if we ever wanted to revisit this universe. (Unlikely, but I like to leave the possibility open.)
There's one thing we're missing. Can anyone guess what it is? We'll find out in the epilogue!
Next time, in the final chapter of Silence, the epilogue: This was how things were supposed to be.
Stop back next Monday for the next installment, or just follow me, Karine of R011ingThunder.
