Chapter 16

Figure from the Dark Past

Back in Magnolia…

Ash tossed and turned in his bed, but he just couldn't fall asleep. All he could do was stare into the darkness of the shadows in his room. Eventually, he just lying flat on his back and looking up at the ceiling with a reflective expression.

How could he rest when he knew that there was a deranged soul-stealing monster on the loose? Or that his best friend might run into him at any given moment?

Worry and frustration stirred around inside of him ever since Wendy and Romeo had brought him and Carol back to Magnolia. All he could think about was that Alu was somewhere out there, and was possibly in grave danger. He wanted to do something to help her. She was his teammate after all. He should be there for her. She would do the same for him if it was the other way around. Knowing Alu, if she knew that he or any of the others were in danger, she would fight tooth and nail to save them.

"I have to help her," he whispered. "I know Dad was just looking out for me, but I can't stay here and do nothing. Not when I know my friend's in danger."

At that moment, there was a tapping on the window.

Ash, surprised, turned over and looked over at his window. He nearly had a heart-attack when he saw two dark silhouettes hovering outside the other side of the pane of glass. But before he screamed, he immediately recognized their shapes. One was a human girl. The other was a small, round-eared Exceed with a little sword strapped to his back.

"Carol? Pantherlily?"

Sure enough, it was Carol and Pantherlily. But what were they doing here? And why did they look like they were prepared to go on a mission? They had backpacks, armor, weapons and everything.

Curious, Ash leapt out of bed and ran across the room. He then lifted up the window and leaned out a bit.

"What are you guys doing here?" he asked in a hushed tone.

"Getting you and Ur, of course." Carol replied in the same tone. "You wanna save Alu, don't you?"

"Well, yeah but…"

"If you want to save her then we need to move now." Pantherlily said strictly. "I know Gajeel doesn't want Carol to intervene, but he might be less harsh on her if I come with you guys."

Ash raised an eyebrow.

"I take it you're Mom doesn't know you're here," he said flatly.

"You think I'd be flying outside your window at eleven o'clock at night if she did?" Carol replied sarcastically. "I only let Lily come with me because he threatened to tell Mom if I didn't."

"I'm doing this for Levy's sake." Pantherlily explained with his usual authority. "Your Mom's not going to like it when she finds out you've run away. So, I'm going with you for your own safety."

"Yeah, I know, Lily." Carol shrugged. "And I'm sure we could use your help," she then turned back to the dusky-and-aqua-haired boy. "Anyway Ash, if you're coming, then you better get dressed and get your sister. We have a long journey and we have to leave now."

Ash hesitated for a second. Finally, he narrowed his eyes in agreement and he grinned.

"Okay," he said. "I'll get Ur. Meet us down the street. We'll be there in a few minutes."

"Got it." Carol nodded sharply. "Just be careful."

Back in the forest…

"Alu, are you okay?" Aries asked, working quickly to untie the tentacle wrapped around her key holder.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Alu replied as she sat up. "But how did you guys find me?"

"You can thank Violet for that." Aquarius replied.

"Violet?"

"That's me," a small voice said.

Alu looked over to see the little purple Exceed that she had rescued before come out from behind Aries. She then came up to Alu and grabbed her arm in a caring gesture.

"Oh, hey again." Alu grinned. "Thanks for getting my friends."

"It's the least I could do." Violet said humbly.

Alu stroked the little Exceed head with gratitude.

"Alu, get ready!" Aquarius suddenly ordered. "He's up again!"

The pink-haired girl snapped her head around to glare at the man who had attacked her before. He was back on his feet and looking at the group in front of him with confrontation. Alu quickly got up and took a fighting stance, her face deepening into a fierce scowl.

The man sneered, "Aquarius, huh? I thought your key had been destroyed long ago. I guess if I had known you could still be summoned, I would've made a Neo Zodiac Spirit of you, too."

"Neo Zodiac?" Aquarius raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Aquarius, Aries, he's a soul-stealer!" Alu informed with informative anger. "He took Yukino's soul and is using it to make his own Celestial Spirits!"

"What?!" Aries shrieked in alarm.

"The little pipsqueak is right," the man said with malevolent pride. "Who would have thought that Celestial Magic could be so powerful. And having a whole army at my disposal that blindly follows my command is certainly a blessing. You Spirits certainly are useful tools."

Aquarius didn't say anything, but her eyes flashed in rage. Aries began to tremble at the mention of the word "tool". That word used in that kind of context was enough to bring back horrible memories to the Golden Ram.

"Tools?!" Alu snapped viciously. "That's how you view Celestial Spirits?!"

"Why not?" the man said snidely. "It's not like they die or anything. Why do you think Celestial Wizards summon them?"

"I don't think, I know!" Alu shouted, raising her voice. "I'm a Celestial Wizard, too! A REAL one! Celestial Wizards are supposed to care for their Spirits and treat them as equals! They're supposed to fight together as a team! Anyone who dares to call themselves a Celestial Wizard and treats Spirits like garbage is third-rate crap! And I despise any Wizard who treats their Spirits that way! And I especially hate wizards who take others' powers for their own gain because their too lazy to learn it themselves!"

The man paused for a moment before giving a wicked snicker.

"Well, aren't you a feisty one," he said jeeringly. "But what you think is none of my concern. Now just be a good little girl and surrender and no one will get hurt."

"No way!" Alu shot back. "You think I'm just going to let you take the Dragon Slayers?! If that's what you think then you've got another thing coming!"

At the mention of Dragon Slayers, Aquarius and Aries both reacted. Aries's eyes widened in shock and she inhaled sharply. Aquarius's expression changed to suspicious anger.

"What did you say, Alu?" the Water Spirit asked quickly.

"He's after the Dragon Slayers!" Alu repeated. "My guess is that he wants one of their souls!"

"My, my," the man said tauntingly, "nothing gets by you does it, brat? But I might as well tell you since none of you will be walking away from this alive. You're absolutely right. Once I've taken the soul of a Dragon Slayer, then the Spell will be complete, and I'll achieve ultimate power. All my plans will be complete."

"NEVER!" Alu screeched.

Suddenly, a giant stream of water shot past Alu with wicked speed. It reached the cloaked man and seemed to encase him in a giant ball of raging water. Alu snapped her head over in Aquarius's direction and saw something that surprised her immensely.

Aquarius had a look that was of both fury and protectiveness.

"How dare you!" Aquarius yelled at the dark stranger with poisonous wrath. "What kind of twisted person would go so far as to learn Curse power to steal others' souls?! And to become a more powerful wizard?! You're nothing but a monster! You're not worthy of that power!"

As soon as Aquarius finished that sentence, giant whips of white papery stuff burst out of her water dome and shot straight towards her. Before anyone had the chance to jump in and help, Aquarius was struck with about five of those whips. She cried out in pain as she flew back and slammed into a tree.

"AQUARIUS!" Aries and Alu shouted in alarm.

Violet gasped in fear.

Something in the flimsy but powerful whips caught Alu's attention. Just before they returned to their master, Alu managed to catch a glimpse of what they were made of.

The were made of a thousand little shikigami paper dolls.

"Shikigami Magic?!" she gasped in surprise.

Alu then looked back over at the cloaked man. Aquarius's sudden attack from before had managed to blow his hood off, revealing his face. Alu still didn't recognize him, but even under the moonlight, she could tell that this man had all the qualities of an enemy. His dark eyes were just full of evil and resentment, and even a hint of vague insanity. But they were also filled with some kind of gruesome pleasure for others suffering.

And yet, something about this man told Alu that she knew him somehow. She had never seen him before, but she felt as if she knew him.

One thing she did know for sure was that anyone who could deflect Aquarius's attack with ease was a force to be reckoned with.

This guy was obviously powerful.

"Who ARE you?!" Alu demanded nervously.

"What? No one in Fairy Tail bothered to tell you about me?" the man snarled. "I'm surprised since I almost succeeded in bringing them to their knees eighteen years ago. But that good-for-nothing son of mine turned on me and put a dent in my plans to wipe out Fairy Tail for good."

"Good-for-nothing son?" Alu whispered with uncertainty.

"Oh, come on. You must know of that Dragon-Slayer-wannabe, Laxus."

"Hold on, Laxus is your…!"

Alu didn't even have to finish that sentence. All at once it clicked in her mind and she gasped in fearing shock. Her skin turned even more white and she began to shake with fear. She stepped back as terror filled her eyes.

She DID know this man.

She knew him by reputation.

She had heard people speak of him at the guild before. What she had heard of him was nothing but horror stories. She heard about how he formed a guild called Raven Tail, whose sole purpose was to destroy Fairy Tail. How he sent one of his minions to attack Wendy and Carla just before the Grand Magic Games. And how he had another one of them torment Alu's mother in a match during the Games.

"No!" Alu trembled. "I know you! You're Makarov's son, aren't you! You're…You're Ivan Dreyer!"

The man lifted his head and gave a maniacal laugh that made everyone's internal organs quiver with disturbing fright.

"So, you figured it out!" he thundered as he looked coldly back at Alu. "What a smart girl you are! You're absolutely right! I AM Ivan! Now, it's my turn to guess who you are! You're one of the next generation of Fairy Tail!"

Alu couldn't stop shaking. She didn't like where this was going.

"And seeing as you have two Celestial Spirits that used to belong to that blond Celestial Wizard," Ivan continued with wicked confidence, "you must be Lucy Heartfillia's daughter!" "And if that's true, then who's your father?!"

Alu was beginning to feel sick to her stomach. That was a rhetorical question if she ever heard one.

She could just see it in those empty eyes of his.

Ivan had figured it all out.

He knew who she was.

"I know why you're so protective of the Dragon Slayers!" Ivan smiled evilly, holding up his bitten hand, which was still dripping with blood. "It's because your father's one! Don't even try denying it! The pink hair, dark eyes, even your cloths and personality! The resemblance is extremely uncanny! You're the daughter of Natsu Dragneel, the Dragon Slayer of Fire!"

Alu couldn't speak. She could hardly breathe. She was shaking so badly that her brain had ceased to work on any thought process. It was like a horrible nightmare that she couldn't wake up from was crashing in on her. All the confidence she had before was sucked out of her in less than a second.

For the first time in her life that Alu could remember, she was terrified. But she didn't know who she was terrified for.

Why was she so terrified of Ivan?

Was it because he was a soul-stealer? Or was it because he had found out that she was Natsu's daughter? Alu didn't know. She was too scared to think straight. Her mind was just in a panic scramble.

The only thing that was clear to her was that her father was in danger, and it was all because of her. Because Ivan had figured out she was Natsu's daughter, she had just become a potential bargaining chip.

Seeing his target distracted and shaken, Ivan threw another black tentacle at her in hopes of capturing her again. By the time Alu realized what was going on, the tentacle was just four feet away from her and closing in fast.

She wouldn't be able to get out of the way in time.

Fortunately, Aries leapt into action.

"WOOL WALL!"

In an instant, the tentacle was stopped short by a massive wall of pink, fluffy wool. It ricocheted off of the dense cloud and whipped back to Ivan, striking him across the face. He let out a yell of pain and wielded back, covering his cheek and grimacing.

As soon as she had made her wall sturdy enough, Aries turned back to her terror-stricken friend.

"Alu, snap out of it!" Aries shrieked with worry, grabbing Alu by the shoulders and shaking her roughly.

Alu blinked and gulped in a huge breath of air as reality snapped back into her face.

"A-Aries!" she stuttered, her voice weak and fragile.

"C'mon, we've got to get out of here!" Aries said desperately. "You can't let him catch you!"

"But…I can't…!"

"Just get out of here!" a strict voice ordered.

Alu turned around to see Aquarius rising up off the ground.

"Aquarius…"

"I can handle this!" Aquarius replied harshly. "He said he doesn't have a version of me in his arsenal! So I think I can take him on!"

"But he's after my dad!" Alu cried. "I can't let him…!"

"STOP ARGUING AND GET OUT OF HERE!" Aquarius roared.

Alu stiffened and fell silent. Aquarius then turned to Aries.

"Aries, get Alu and Violet somewhere safe!" she ordered. "Don't look back! Just get out of here!"

Aries replied with a nod. She then took Alu's hand and made and urge for her to come with her.

"Aries..." Alu started to protest.

"Aquarius can handle this." Aries interrupted. "Let's just go. C'mon Violet."

Although she was still hesitant, Alu gave up resisting. She let Aries pull her away from the scene as Violet summoned her Area wings and flew alongside them. Aquarius watched as the trio disappeared into the shadows of the trees. When they were out of sight, she let out a slight relieved breath of air and began to focus her attention on the battle ahead.

Suddenly, Aries Wool Wall was cut to shreds but a bunch of shikigami whips. In just a matter of seconds, they completely decimated all of the pink whole. This left Aquarius and Ivan standing off against each other. Both of them stared at each other with contempt.

And for Ivan, he showed irritation when he saw that Alu had disappeared.

"Where did you send her?!" he bellowed at Aquarius.

"None of your business!" the Water Spirit shot back. "If I were you, I would focus on the fight!"

Aquarius then held her silver urn up and sent out another wave of water towards Ivan. He managed to block the oncoming attack with a wall of shikigami dolls. At the same time, he grabbed two keys off of his belt and held them up in the air.

"Open, Gates of the Dark Lion and Maiden! Leo and Virgo!"

The two blood-red keys shined for a moment. A second later, the Neo versions of Leo and Virgo appeared out of dark magenta Magic Circles. Aquarius backed away warily at the sight of them. Even she could tell that these Spirits were powerful. More than that, she could sense that there was something wrong about them. There was nothing in their eyes. No emotion at all.

They were like empty dolls.

"Leo!" Ivan commanded. "Take down Aquarius! Show her no mercy!"

"With pleasure, master." Neo Leo replied with a sly grin.

The next thing Aquarius knew; she was dodging an oncoming purple-fire punch from a golden-armored clad Leo. And no sooner had she avoided his attack did she have to block another punch that was aimed right at her face.

This gave Ivan his chance.

"Virgo!" he shouted. "Find and capture Natsu's daughter! Bring her to me alive!"

"As you wish, master." Neo Virgo grinned wickedly. "This should be fun."

With that, Neo Virgo dashed off into the forest.

"NO!" Aquarius yelled.

With a sheer force of determination, Aquarius used her tail to smack Neo Leo away from her. She then turned around and attempted to stop Neo Virgo. However, she was halted by a sudden wall of purple flames that shot up just inches away from her face. She stumbled back and whipped around to see Neo Leo conjuring up a storm of dark fire.

"I thought you said to focus on the fight." Neo Leo taunted. "You should take your own advice, not that you're going to make it out of this alive."

Aquarius scowled fiercely.

"You're the one who's not going to walk away from this alive!" she retorted.

"Then bring it on." Neo Leo smiled cruelly.

As Aquarius prepared herself for the fight, a single thought crossed her mind for a brief moment.

"Aries, whatever happens, you have to protect Alu. No matter what."

The Celestial Spirit of Water then cleared her mind of any distraction and moved in to attack.