Chapter 19
Power Rising
Rogue carefully set Alu back down on her feet as the members of Crime Sorciére ran up to join them. Alu staggered for a moment, wrapping her arm around her middle as a shot of pain rushed through it.
"Hey, take it easy." Rogue said as he helped support the girl. "You okay?"
"Oh yeah, I'm fine." Alu winced, bracing herself against Rogue's shoulder. "Just getting my second wind. But man, am I glad to see you."
"Alu!" Aries cried as she ran up to her key holder.
"I'm okay, Aries." Alu replied as the Celestial Spirit reached her.
Upon seeing Aries, Sorano stopped a few feet away and looked away in a kind of awkward and guilty gesture while the rest of her companions approached Alu and Rogue.
From where he was, Ivan looked at the newcomers with clear befuddlement. While seeing Crime Sorciére was unexpected, he wasn't exactly surprised to see them helping out a Fairy Tail wizard. What really confused him was to see a Sabertooth wizard to come to the rescue of a Fairy Tail wizard.
The last time he saw those two guilds, they were practically sworn enemies. But these two wizards in front of him treated each other like they were from the same guild.
This was certainly an interesting turn of events. Ivan grinned maliciously.
"Rogue of Sabertooth," Ivan sneered. "I had a feeling you would show up eventually. I just didn't expect it to so soon."
Both Rogue and Alu looked up at Ivan as he spoke, as did Jellal and his group. Both Jellal and Rogue stared at the former master of Raven Tail with ominous suspicion. Alu, on the other hand, glared back at the deranged man with vengeance in her eyes.
"Ivan." Rogue said sternly. "I thought it was you. It's been a long time, but I never forget a scent."
"Tell me, why did you save that girl?" Ivan asked. "You do know she's a Fairy Tail wizard, right?"
"Of course I do, that's exactly why I helped her." Rogue replied with unwavering loyalty. "Fairy Tail has been Sabertooth's ally for years now."
"Don't bother explaining it to him, Rogue." Jellal said glaringly. "I doubt this man knows anything about the alliances between the guilds now."
"Ah, Jellal of Crime Sorciére." Ivan sneered, raising an eyebrow. "I've heard about you and your guild. So, the rumors were true. I guess I should've known you and your gang of outlaws would come out of the shadows eventually."
"Cut the idle chat." Eagle demanded, stepping up to stand beside his father.
That made Ivan turn his attention to the scarlet-haired boy. The moment he made eye-contact with Eagle, he gave a look of mild disgust.
"Don't tell me, you must be Jellal and Erza's son," he said, almost like he was mocking Eagle. "Your hair really gives it away, doesn't it? Much like the little Fairy Tail pipsqueak there."
"Who are you callin' a pipsqueak?!" Alu snapped.
"I said to cut the idle chat." Eagle said to Ivan, unfazed by the man's jeering. "Tell us why you're here and why you were attacking Alu."
At that moment, Alu flinched in shock. She suddenly remembered that Ivan was now after the souls of Dragon Slayers. She looked back up at Rogue with worry. What if Ivan wanted to steal his soul? She couldn't let that happen.
"Rogue, be careful!" she warned. "He's a soul-stealer now! He's after a Dragon Slayer soul!"
Rogue looked down at Alu, his visible eye wide with shock. Not just Rogue either. All of Crime Sorciére turned to look at Alu with the same amount of shock in their eyes.
"Alu, what did you say?!" Meldy exclaimed with sudden worry.
"Oh, don't worry, little girl." Ivan said mockingly. "Although this Dragon Slayer would be an easy-picking, I can't use a tainted Dragon Slayer soul for the Spell."
"Tainted?" Alu questioned. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Alu then blinked in realization. Ivan must've been talking about the Dragon Slayer Lacrima implanted in Rogue. That would explain why he said he was after only three Dragon Slayers of Fairy Tail. He was omitting Laxus, even though he was a Dragon Slayer, too. But he was the only Dragon Slayer in the guild who got his powers from a Dragon Slayer Lacrima inside him.
"So you're after First Generation Dragon Slayers." Rogue said, narrowing his eyes. "Why?"
"He wants to become a Celestial Dragon Slayer." Alu answered. "And just look, he's already got the soul of a Celestial Wizard. That's how he was able to create his own Zodiac Spirits."
Alu jabbed a finger at Neo Taurus, who was getting to up, groaning in pain from Eagle's Flash Forward attack. The Dark Spirit noticed her action and gave an offended gasp.
"Don't know it's ruuuude to point at someone, little girl," he said, dignified. "You seriously need to learn some manners, young lady."
Alu raised an eyebrow as Neo Taurus spoke. Strangely enough, she didn't feel intimidated by him anymore.
"You know," she said flatly, "honestly, I wouldn't mind this version of Taurus if he wasn't trying to kill me."
Both Aries and Aquarius blinked at Alu's statement. While Aries frowned uncomfortably, Aquarius gave a small snicker.
"Well, at least you're honest." Aries mumbled softly. "Although I'm not sure how Taurus would think of that."
"The scruff munchkin has a valid point." Aquarius admitted. "Our Taurus's behavior is getting very old, not to mention creepy."
Meanwhile, Rogue looked back and forth between Neo Taurus and Ivan for a moment. Jellal notices Rogue's silence and looked over at him with concern. Rogue's face was slowly turning from confused suspicion to stunned realization. What confirmed it for him was when he caught a glimpse of the crimson keys around Ivan's belt. He then remembered about what Alu said seconds ago about this guy being a soul-stealer.
In a heartbeat, it all clicked into place.
Rogue's expression changed to a very rare scowl that was full of viciousness.
"It was you!" he growled. "You stole Yukino's soul!"
At the mention of Yukino's name, as well as what had happened to her; Jellal, Eagle, and Meldy stared in shock and horror.
Sorano, who was still hanging back in silence, flinched. Her sharp eyes grew wide, and she felt her heart in her chest tighten.
Ivan smiled wickedly and chuckled with sly amusement. He looked like he was enjoying the scene of fright before him.
"Yes, it was me," he said cruelly to Rogue. "I've would've preferred that Celestial bimbo from Fairy Tail, but that other wizard from your guild was a suitable replacement."
"My mom's not a bimbo!" Alu shot back, raising a fist in a challenging manner. "And what you did to Yukino was horrible! How can you just do that to someone, and take pleasure in it?!"
"Why should I care what happens to people as long as I can get what I want?" Ivan shrugged carelessly. "Only fools would allow themselves to become emotionally attached to others."
Alu was about to speak again when Rogue suddenly tightened his grip on her shoulders. She turned to look at him and saw that he was very tense. He gave a deep growl in his throat before letting go of Alu and walking forward. Alu and the others around her watched with uncertainty as he began to march towards Ivan and the Neo Taurus. His fists were clenched, and the bangs of his hair covering his right eye gave him a really foreboding impression.
Rogue then came to a stop just a few yards away from Ivan. It was unclear of what he was going to do next. Rogue was always a calm and collected person who thought before attacking. However, Alu knew full well that he was angered by what happened to Yukino. Right now, she wasn't sure how he was going to respond to Ivan's crime.
Finally, Rogue spoke in a low voice.
"Maybe we are fools. But if being a fool means caring for other people more than yourself, then I'd rather be a fool instead of a heartless monster bent on power."
Ivan raised an eyebrow, looking almost like he was slightly amused by the sentiment.
"I know just where the path for power leads." Rogue continued. "I know that better than anyone, because I caught a glimpse of my own future where I went down that path. It leads to nothing but a pit of utter darkness that destroys your future."
When Meldy heard that, she narrowed her eyes slightly. Instantly, a small flashback of a time during the year X791 appeared in her mind. She knew what Rogue was talking about, and she couldn't help but feel empathy towards him.
"All this coming from the Shadow Dragon Slayer?" Ivan taunted. "I thought you were all about darkness."
"I control shadows, not darkness." Rogue declared. "There's a difference. If anything, you're the one who's all about darkness."
"What?" Ivan snarled.
"I can see it in your eyes." Rogue said, scowling. "You're so far gone because of your quest for power. And for what? Just to take down Fairy Tail? How pitiful."
Ivan gritted his teeth with infuriation.
Rogue closed his eyes and said, "I don't know why you have a grudge against Fairy Tail, and frankly it's none of my business."
Alu drew in a sharp breath of air when she saw a shadowy aura begin to appear around Rogue. She had seen him do that many times at the Grand Magic Games. He was going to go into Dragon Force. And when he did that, Ivan wouldn't stand a chance against the Third Generation Dragon Slayer.
Sure enough, Rogue's power erupted in a mighty display of rage. His hair stood up and whipped about with the shadows swirling around him. When he snapped his eyes open, his crimson irises were blazing with righteous anger.
"But the fact you attacked Yukino has made you an enemy of Sabertooth!" he shouted. "And worst of all, you made yourself MY enemy! Whatever it takes, I will get Yukino's soul back!"
Rogue suddenly lunged forward, shape-shifting into a shadow as he did and slipped around Neo Taurus, who tried to attack him. Rogue reached Ivan and turned back into his physical form. He then raised his fist and prepared to strike down the wicked man with a Shadow Dragon Slash.
However, Ivan was still holding Neo Taurus's Key. Just as Rogue was about to strike, Neo Taurus vanished from the place he was standing and suddenly appeared between Rogue and Ivan. Alu stared in horror as Rogue's attack struck down Neo Taurus. The Dark Golden Bull Spirit let out a short holler of pain before disappearing in a burst of black and purple orbs. All that was left in his place was a damaged shikigami.
Rogue noticed this as well and leapt back. His face was painted with stunned confusion.
"Don't look so surprised." Ivan smirked evilly. "Celestial Spirits make great shields for wizards. And since mine were created by me, I can just make them all over again, no matter how many times you take them down."
"Damn you!" Rogue snarled.
Suddenly, a huge swarm of what looked like a bunch of little clouds with mouths full of jagged teeth shot straight at Ivan. Rogue heard the attack coming and jumped out of the way just in the nick of time. As the attack closed in on Ivan, he summoned forth several streams of shikigami dolls that whipped around violently. Each whip of shikigami dolls struck those little clouds, causing them to disappear in a puff of smoke.
When the wave stopped, everyone turned to see who had unleashed the attack.
Sorano stood in an attack position with her hand stretched out towards her enemy. She had a deep and terrifying scowl on her face that was directed at Ivan. At the same time, trails of tears were streaming down her face.
This was the first time Aries noticed Sorano. Simply out of some kind of reaction, she whimpered fearfully and grabbed Alu by the girl's arm. Alu didn't take any notice of it, however.
"You horrible, vile man!" Sorano hissed at Ivan, her voice full of venom. "How dare you do something so deplorable to my innocent little sister! Return Yukino's soul, or I swear, I will kill you!"
"Oh, you don't want to do that my dear." Ivan sneered, clearly enjoying the look of hatred and pain on Sorano's face. "Fun fact about Soul-Stealing curses: if you hurt me, you also hurt the Celestial Wizard. As long as I have her soul, her life is completely in my hands."
Rogue winced, scowling so hard that he showed his teeth; and Sorano clenched with even more anger and emotional agony.
Alu growled viciously and began to tremble with fury as she turned her head back around to stare Ivan down. Once again, that demonic look returned to her eyes, making her pupils and irises shrink. Her whole body tensed up so that the muscles on her arms and legs became more predominate, her fingers curled into tight fists, and she gritted her teeth so hard that they looked like they were about to break.
Two things had made Alu absolutely livid.
If there was one thing that ticked Alu off more than someone threatening her family, it was Celestial Wizards calling their Spirits "shields". She didn't care if Ivan's Spirits were fake or not. Alu might have destroyed Neo Virgo, but that was because she was trying to protect Aries and Violet. What she did was purely out of defense for someone she cared about.
But Ivan, he was just protecting himself and he didn't care who got hurt. On top that, he was tormenting Rogue and Sorano by using Yukino's soul as a shield to protect himself.
That was it!
Ivan had crossed so many lines now that Alu didn't care how low her Magic was. She was going to take him down.
In response to her convictions, Alu's Magic erupted once again into a blazing aura of pale orange flames. Everyone standing around her almost got burned by the unexpected burst of fire. Luckily for them, they managed to step away from her before she did any damage to them.
"YOU BASTARD!" Alu roared. "YOU COWARD!"
Ivan snapped his gaze over to Alu when she said that, and saw just how much rage she was letting off through her flames.
Ivan scowled viciously at Alu.
"WHAT'D YOU CALL ME, YOU BRAT!" he bellowed.
"ARIES!" Alu yelled. "COMBO ATTACK!"
"Uh, okay!" Aries nodded and immediately prepared to attack.
The Golden Ram Spirit then darted from her spot as quick as lightening.
"Rogue, get out of the way!" Alu shouted.
Rogue hesitated for a moment. However, when Aries came within about three feet of him, he immediately transformed back into a shadow and whipped away quickly before transforming back into his human form. Ivan saw Aries coming and immediately jumped back, grapping three keys off his belt.
With a swipe of his hand, three spirits immediately appeared.
Neo Leo was one of them, and the other two were of Sagittarius and a humanized version of Ophiuchus.
Neo Sagittarius essentially looked like a typical centaur. His human-half was strong and muscular, with long straight black hair, and a belt strapped across his front. His horse half was burgundy, and was sturdy like a Clydesdale.
Neo Ophiuchus resembled a woman dressed in a nurse's outfit. On her left arm was a strange, spiked glove that was black. Her hair was spiky, a hideous green color, and her eyes were deep blue. In her right hand was a large syringe with a very sharp needle.
"He's got one of Ophiuchus?!" Rogue exclaimed.
Upon seeing these deranged versions of the Celestial Zodiac, Meldy, Sorano, Jellal, and Eagle instantly took defensive positions.
"Destroy these fools at once!" Ivan commanded. "But keep the Dragon Slayer girl alive!"
"As you wish, master." Neo Leo sneered.
Neo Sagittarius just grunted as he gave a sharp nod.
"This'll be fun." Neo Ophiuchus chuckled wickedly. "I've always wanted to dissect a Celestial Spirit."
Suddenly, Neo Ophiuchus made a lunge towards Aries. The Golden Ram Spirit shrieked when the Snake Spirit charged straight at her. She wasn't going to be able to dodge out of the way in time.
But just as Neo Ophiuchus was about to impale Aries with her syringe, Sorano sprang into action again.
"Come forth, my angels!" she shouted, raising her hand to the sky.
Instantly, one of those cloud-like creatures appeared. Although it was only one, it was massively larger than the others Sorano previously summoned. It shot between Aries and Neo Ophiuchus, shielding Aries and taking the syringe attack from Neo Ophiuchus. Neo Ophiuchus did a single backflip before she landed on her feet. She shot a quick glare at the white-haired woman.
Aries recovered quickly and turned back to look at Sorano with a shocked expression. For a brief second, the two made eye contact and felt a sense of awkwardness between them. The last time they saw each other, it wasn't exactly the best of times. So Aries wasn't exactly expecting Sorano to save her in any way.
However, seeing as the two of them had more pressing matters at hand, Sorano just gave a simple nod. Aries read and understood the nonverbal message and nodded back. They would have to settle this matter later. Right now, they had to deal with this power-hungry wizard and his army of dark Spirits first.
"Nice one, Sorano!" Alu said. "Aries and I can handle Ophiuchus! The rest of you go after Leo and Sagittarius!"
"Got it!" Rogue nodded.
"Meldy!" Jellal ordered. "You go help Aquarius!"
"Got it!" Meldy replied, running over to where Aquarius and Violet were.
"Ready, Aries?!" Alu turned to her Spirit friend.
"I'm ready when you are!" Aries replied.
"Then let's go!"
With the commands given, Alu and her team charged head-first into the fight. In response, both Neo Leo and Neo Ophiuchus raced towards the three fighters.
Neo Leo aimed right at Rogue and attempted to punch him in the face.
"PITCH BLACK PUNISHMENT!"
But Rogue was ready.
"SHADOW DRAGON WAXWING FLASH!"
Once again, Rogue transformed into a shadow that wrapped around Neo Leo's fist.
"What the-!" Neo Leo jolted.
Rogue's shadow snaked around Neo Leo's arm. Then, without warning, Rogue reappeared in a half-human/half-shadow stated and summoned the power of shadows to his hands. He struck Neo Leo's arm with great force, making Neo Leo holler out in agony. The Dark Spirit then tried to strike back, but his attack just when right through Rogue like he was nothing more than thin air.
With that attack, Jellal came swooping in using his Meteor Magic to land a hard punch on Neo Leo's back. The Dark Lion Spirit let out a sharp cry of pain as the attack sent him flying forward. No sooner had he hit the ground that he got back up again and charged at the Shadow Dragon Slayer and Crime Sorciére leader again in a white-hot fury, and a vicious aura of black fire.
At the same time, Sorano and Eagle teamed up and set their attacks on Neo Sagittarius. Since their Magic allowed them to attack from a distance, they best advantage was to stay back and strike Neo Sagittarius from afar, and dodging attacks only when they had to.
Using Arc of Time Magic, Eagle caused his Magic orb to attack the Dark Spirit with such speed and force that it looked like he had summoned more than one orb. Sorano once again summoned her smaller angels and attacked the centurion Spirit in a wave.
However, Neo Sagittarius proved to be stronger and faster than they had thought. For his large size, Neo Sagittarius dodged their simultaneous attacks quite easily. Luckily, the attacks that both Eagle and Sorano were able to land did cause some kind of damage. At any rate, it was enough to keep Neo Sagittarius from reach them. If they kept this up, they would surely win. Both of them had the immense Magic Power to do it.
Meanwhile, Alu and Aries raced towards Neo Ophiuchus. With a savage grin, Neo Ophiuchus twirled her syringe weapon with ease and it transformed into clipboard. Before Alu could guess what she was going to do next, Neo Ophiuchus swiped her hands rapidly over the board, sending razor sharp pieces of papers towards her and Aries. The two just barely managed to dodge them by ducking, jumping, back-flipping, and cartwheeling out of the way.
Even Violet and Aquarius had to duck to avoid the papers as they flew around in all directions.
"Very impressive, little Dragneel." Neo Ophiuchus said coolly, summoning her syringe back. "Not only do you have brains, but you're physically fit as well. Can't wait to see what your muscles look like when I slice them out of you."
Neo Ophiuchus then lunged towards Alu with wicked speed.
"Holy crap!" Alu gasped as the tip of the syringe headed straight for her stomach.
Alu managed to evade the attack so that it missed her body, but it didn't miss her completely. Neo Ophiuchus's needle pierced through the left corner of Alu's vest with enough force to tear a piece off. But Alu didn't have time to think about that, nor did she really care. She quickly whipped around and kicked Neo Ophiuchus in the center of her abdomen, sending her stumbling back and grimacing in pain.
Seeing the opening in Neo Ophiuchus's attack, Alu turned back to Aries.
"Aries, let's try that combo attack!"
"You sure about this?!" Aries asked. "We've never used in in an actual fight before!"
"But we have to use in now!" Alu replied urgently. "It's our only chance! Now, you ready?!"
Aries finally gave a determined face and nodded in response. Alu grinned confidently and leapt back. Aries held her ground and summoned a bunch of pink wool in her hands.
"GO, WOOL BOMB!" she shouted.
Out of Aries hands shot a massive bundle of pink, fluffy wool that wrapped around Neo Ophiuchus.
Ivan, who was watching this fight from a safe distance, began to laugh mockingly.
"You honestly think that attack will work on a powerful Zodiac Spirit?" he said. "I thought you were smarter than that. What are you going to do: send Ophiuchus to sleep?"
Alu smiled mischievously. Ivan in for a surprise.
As soon as Aries had created enough wool, she leapt backwards and Alu dashed forward. She then took a deep breath of air and aimed at Aries Wool Bomb.
"FIRE DRAGON ROAR!"
Fire shot from Alu's mouth and headed straight for Aries wool. When her flames made contact with the wool, it spread around it faster than it took to blink an eye. Suddenly, the whole thing blew up in one giant explosion of fire and wool that expanded across the center of the clearing, like a small atomic bomb that had just gone off.
This spectacle was enough to make everyone else stop their fights and stare in amazement for a brief moment. Even Ivan gawked in utter disbelief at the display of power.
Violet and Meldy gasped in shock, and Aquarius blinked with astonishment. Then the Water Spirit gave a small, impressed grin.
"So, the dimwit found out that Aries wool is combustible," she thought to herself. "Not bad."
In a few moments, the fire and wool disappeared to reveal a burned Neo Ophiuchus. She was on her hands and knees and was panting for air, but she was still in one piece.
That made Alu stepped back in worry. She was expecting that attack to completely obliterate the Dark Spirit. So why didn't it work?
Alu soon got her answer when she felt a huge blow to her Magic Power. She inhaled sharply, staggered for a second. She then gripped her chest and then fell to her hands and knees. Sweat began to drip from her forehead, and her limbs began to feel weak and shaky.
Alu recognized this feeling. It happened to her before. She had used too much of her Dragon Slayer Magic before she had enough to pull off another attack. And that breath attack overexerted her reserve of that Magic so much that the energy meant for her Celestial Magic had to alter into Dragon Slayer Magic to make up for it.
This left her extremely exhausted. She was just about out of Magic now. And her increased heart rate only proved just how much she she had overdone it. Her heart was beating so hard and fast that it felt like it was going to explode inside her ribcage.
"Not now!" she gasped, struggling to breath. "Please not now!"
"Alu!" Aries cried as she ran over to her friend.
Rogue and Jellal were about to rush over to help the girl, but something caused them to stop and stagger in shock and pain.
While everyone was distracted by Alu's condition, Ivan took the opportunity to sucker-punch all of them. With a nasty grin, he released his Soul Stealing tentacles at the four remaining wizards who were fighting: Rogue, Jellal, Sorano, and Eagle. Before any of them knew what was going on, they were struck by the tentacles. Rogue was hit in the left arm, Jellal in the right side, Sorano in the leg, and Eagle in the back.
The moment those black tentacles hit their targets, they instantly became paralyzed.
Meanwhile, Aries immediately got to Alu's side and knelt down to her level. She did her best to support her key holder, but she didn't quite know what to do in this situation. There was danger all around and Alu was almost on the verge of passing out.
The problem only got worse as Neo Ophiuchus rose to her feet and turned menacingly to Alu and Aries. She had a clear look of both amusement and vengeance in her eyes. And she locked them straight onto Alu. Alu looked up and stared at her with concern.
"Nice try, little Dragneel," Neo Ophiuchus snarled. "But you really should know better than to use up too much Magic. Especially since you have a Magic Deficiency."
Alu gasped in horror when Neo Ophiuchus said that.
"Oh well," the Dark Snake Charmer grinned slyly, "seeing as you barely have the strength to stand, I guess I should put you out of your misery." Neo Ophiuchus turned back to Ivan. "That is if you allow me to, master."
"Just hold on a second, Ophiuchus." Ivan replied almost carelessly. "I want her to watch this. While I have no use for these souls, their Magic Energy should suffice."
"As you wish." Neo Ophiuchus said.
With a curl of his fingers, Ivan activated his Soul Stealing Curse. Jellal, Rogue, Sorano, and Eagle all hollered and cried out in pain as the Curse engulfed each of them in a yellow aura and began to sap away their Magic Power. The looks on their faces showed just how much agony and terror they were all in. With each passing second, their Magic was getting weaker and weaker.
The Neo Spirits just watched. While Neo Sagittarius looked stoically pleased, Neo Leo and Neo Ophiuchus were smiling wickedly with amusement.
As Ivan continued to suck away the Magic Power of his victims, a change started to come over him. A dark purplish aura began to form around him. It grew bigger and bigger as he continued to absorb all the Magic Power that he could from the four wizards. The expression on his face slowly changed to insanity, like he was getting drunk from all this power.
"Oh, all this power!" he laughed manically. "It's invigorating! All of you are powerful wizards! With this reserve of energy, I can increase my Magic tenfold!"
"NO, STOP!" Meldy cried in terror. "YOU'RE GOING TO KILL THEM!"
Alu watched all this happen right in front of her. Her senses felt shot with fright, and a horrible chill surged through her body.
She couldn't stand to watch this happen, but there was nothing she could do. Her Magic Power was out. She weak and helpless.
In this horrible moment, Alu was expecting her father to come charging out of the forest at any moment. That's what always happened in the past. Natsu was always there to bail her out of trouble. No matter how many times she had run away, he had always come after her. He was always there for her when she needed him. He always came just in the nick of time to save her and the others. He just had to come. In her mind's eye, Alu could almost see him coming out of the shadows of the trees now and charging at Ivan to put an end to all this.
But Natsu didn't come. He wasn't coming this time. He wasn't anywhere near here.
Alu was alone.
"Dad, where are you?" Alu whimpered fearfully. "Please come. I need you."