Hello and welcome to chapter 6! Nothing to say except thanks for all the reviews, follows and favourites and I hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail
Garion and Wendy stared at each other in surprise, neither of them speaking. "Wendy!?" Garion asked again, breaking the silence that had fallen upon the entrance hall of the large mansion. "Why are you here?" He asked, genuine curiosity in his voice along with a great deal of confusion.
Wendy started. "I'm..." All of a sudden she seemed to remember that there was a large number of wizards in the room and that they were all looking at her with a myriad of looks ranging from interested to downright shocked. Shyly she held her hands behind her back and glanced around at the assembled wizards, a small embarrassed blush spreading across her cheeks. "I-I'm the representative from the Cait Shelter guild." She answered, directing it towards Garion but saying it with enough volume so that everyone could hear her. She looked at the group standing behind Garion. "My names Wendy Marvell, its nice to meet all of you!" She looked at Garion and a shy smile formed on her face. "And its nice to see you again too!" she added nervously.
A grin formed on Garion's face. "It's great to see you again too Wendy!" He exclaimed cheerfully, causing Wendy's feelings of nervousness to lessen somewhat.
"A girl?" Lyon and Gray asked in unison, regarding Wendy with confused looks.
"She's a kid!?" Lucy and Sherry asked in unison. A frown formed on Lucy's face. How does she know Garion? She thought.
"She's... not handsome!" Ichiya said despondently from his location on the floor which was being ensured by Erza's boot on the top of his head.
"Nor is she a man." Erza said. "Why should it matter?" And how is Garion acquainted with her? The S-Class wizard thought with mild curiosity.
"Wendy..." Ren muttered.
"Marvellous..." Eve continued.
"Cute." Hibiki added, drawing out the first syllable. Natsu was regarding the blue haired girl with a strange look.
Whilst the other wizards had been voicing their opinions on Wendy, Garion had been talking to her. "So how are you?" Garion asked, around the same time that Ichiya had voiced his complaint. Wendy, who was currently nervously rocking from side to side, tensed up and looked at Garion.
"Um... I'm... really nervous..." She admitted. Garion blinked and tilted his head to the side.
"Why?" He asked curiously.
"B-because I've never been part of a group of wizards like this." She explained. "It's just... I don't know if I'm going to be any help... and I'm a little scared..." She glanced towards the floor, still rocking from side to side. Before Garion could say any more Jura spoke.
"Now then since all guilds are present we can begin." The wizard saint declared.
"He's not even phased by this!?" Gray demanded incredulously.
"Obviously not." Lyon commented.
"What is Cait Shelter thinking, sending a little girl on this kind of mission?" Sherry asked. "They must be really hurting for members if they sent her here on her own."
"Hey!" Garion snapped, spinning around to look at Sherry, drawing everyone's attention. Many of the assembled wizards were surprised when they saw an annoyed and almost angry look on Garion's face, even Jura raised an eyebrow. "Just because she's young doesn't mean that she's weak! You don't even know what kind of magic she uses, it could be something really powerful!" He said, his attention fixed on Sherry. "Wendy is my friend, so could you please stop talking about her like that!"
Wendy was staring wide eyed at Garion, her mouth slightly agape. The sandy haired boy turned around to look at her and grinned, causing the blue haired girl to blush. Sherry blinked before she narrowed her eyes at Garion, huffing and tilting her head up and away from him after a few moments, a small sneer on her face.
"And also she isn't alone." A serious and refined voice said from the doorway. All the wizards present turned to look at the source of the voice. Happy froze in shock when he saw it was a white furred cat that looked just like him.
"What is this?" Gray asked, referring to the small white haired talking cat that had just arrived.
"A cat?" Lyon asked.
"Whoa she's just like Happy..." Natsu said.
"She can talk too!?" Lucy asked.
"Oh Carla, you followed me here?" Wendy asked, surprised at the appearance of her closest friend.
"Of course I did! You're far too young to be travelling unaccompanied child." Carla replied. She then looked at Garion who was giving her his usual confused look. "I thank you for standing up for Wendy." She said politely.
Garion blinked before he scratched the back of his head and laughed nervously. "I-It was nothing... Wendy's my friend so I'm just doing what a good friend does." He said. Carla gave a curt nod before turning to look at Wendy.
"But child, you must learn to stand up for yourself when that happens." She chided. Wendy nodded her head glumly in reply.
"Pretty kitty." The Trimens said flirtatiously.
"You flirt with cats too!?" Lucy asked incredulously.
Carla looked to her left and her eyes fell upon Happy. The blue haired Exceed looked at Carla for several moments before his eyes became hearts. The small cat started shaking and saying "Thumpidy thump" out loud as he ogled Carla. The white haired Exceed regarded him for several moments before turning her nose up and looking away from him, causing Happy's jaw to nearly fall off in shock. He then made his way over to Lucy and clung to her leg. Not much after that, he started glaring at the celestial wizard about something. Garion was confused by Happy's sudden change in behaviour, and was looking at the Exceed with his head tilted to the side.
"Sorry..." Wendy said shyly, her eyes darting around as she spoke. "I'm probably not what you expected. I know I'm much smaller and younger than most of you... and I may not be much of a fighter but I can use all kinds of support magic so please... let me join the group I'd be so embarrassed if you sent me home!" She pleaded. Carla looked up at the blue haired girl and sighed before placing her paws on her hips.
"You'll never gain their respect if you can't show confidence child!" She chided.
"I'm sorry Carla!" Wendy apologised, holding her hands nervously under her chin.
"I swear you'll drive me to cat-nip." Carla said, crossing her arms.
"I can't help it!" Wendy whined and closed her eyes, prompting Carla to sigh. Suddenly the sky maiden felt something come to rest on her shoulder and she opened her eyes to see Garion had put a hand on her shoulder and was giving her a toothy grin with his eyes closed.
"It's all right Wendy!" He said cheerfully. "If you know support magic I guess that means you won't need to fight, so leave that to us!" He opened his eyes and his grin turned into a smile. "And don't worry, I'm probably the same age as you so its fine! It'll be great for you to join us!" Wendy blinked before a nervous smile spread across her face, whilst Carla had narrowed her eyes slightly at Garion.
"T-thanks Garion!" Wendy said, managing to sound cheerful despite her nervousness.
"Yes, thank you indeed." Carla said, her voice not sounding overly friendly.
Garion's smile grew wider. "Its a pleasure." He looked at the blue haired girl for a few more moments. "I promise I'll protect you Wendy." He suddenly blurted out, acting on a gut feeling he had just gotten. Wendy blinked and felt heat rush to her cheeks.
"Eh... huh?" She blurted out. "Oh um... T-t-Thanks G-Garion!" the blue haired girl blurted out, her nervousness returning in full force. She looked at Garion's face, a cheery, innocent look beaming back at her, his light blue eyes looking into her brown ones. Her nervousness started to melt away because of the look on the boys face and a genuine smile spread across her face. Carla was examining Garion closely.
He seems nice, and he does seem to genuinely care about Wendy... but I must still keep an eye on him, just to be safe. He's already made a promise to protect Wendy, and yet they hardly know each other! She thought.
"It's nothing Wendy!" He said cheerfully, a full force grin forming on his face. Before the conversation could continue Hibiki seemed to appear out of nowhere and pulled Wendy away from Garion.
"Would you please come with me lovely lady?" He asked flirtatiously.
"Um... okay..." Wendy said, completely caught off guard by Hibiki's sudden appearance.
"Bad touch!" Lucy cried, shocked at Hibiki's action. Garion blinked and stared at Hibiki as he lead Wendy away. Then sort of realising what was going on he grew extremely confused.
"Um... what?" He asked. He looked at Lucy. "W-why's he suddenly talking to Wendy? Does he also want to be her friend?" He asked the celestial wizard.
"Um... something like that... I don't think you really need to know Garion." Lucy replied, sweat dropping at the Trimens antics.
"You sensed it too?" Ichiya asked Jura. "That girls parfum is quite unique... and so is the boys... they are no ordinary children..." he trailed off.
"I sensed that about them right away." Jura replied, looking down at Ichiya. "The magic they possess is somehow different from out own. The girls magic seems to be similar to that of the pink haired boy from Fairy Tail. As for the the young boy..." He glanced over at Garion who was looking at Wendy as she was surrounded by the Trimens. "I can feel darkness, as well as light. But they feel... different from any light or darkness magic I have ever sensed before... and there is something else... something hidden beneath the surface of those 2 magic's... a kind of purity that seems to shine like a sun from within him..."
"Indeed... a most curious parfum... I've never smelled anything like it..." Ichyia commented.
"As for the girl... it seems Lady Erza has noticed her power as well..." The two wizards glanced at the S-class wizard, who was currently regarding Wendy with a blank look but both could tell the gears of her mind were turning.
"Impressive..." Ichiya muttered.
"What's happening?" Wendy asked, currently extremely uncomfortable due to the attention that the Trimens were giving her.
"We're pampering a princess!" Eve said, placing a glass of juice on the table.
"You're the cutest girl I've seen all day." Ren complimented, making Wendy feel even more uncomfortable.
"Would you like to freshen up?" Hibiki asked, holding out a steaming handkerchief for Wendy.
"Uhhh... please help me..." Wendy muttered, the request aimed at Carla.
"Just what do you expect me to do?" Carla asked sarcastically, prompting Wendy to laugh nervously.
Garion was looking at Wendy and was frowning. He could tell Wendy was uncomfortable, so he walked over and stopped in front of the table. "Are you all right Wendy?" He asked. The Trimens all looked at him and they frowned.
"Um..." Was all she said. Carla glanced sideways at her and sighed.
"The lady is just fine, we are taking good care of her." Eve said, looking at Garion before looking back at Wendy.
"Yes we are." Ren added.
"The very best care, fit only for a lady of her status." Hibiki commented. All three of the Trimens crowded Wendy, blocking Garion's vision of her and making her even more nervous.
"So Wendy... do you like your men brash or proper?" Hibiki asked.
"Brash right?" Eve asked.
"You are just the cutest..." Ren said. All three leaned closer to Wendy,
"I told you men they are here on business!" Ichiya snapped. "Now clean this place up!" He ordered.
"Yes master right away!" The three said, immediately carrying the couch off and leaving a shell-shocked Wendy and a unimpressed Carla behind.
"Man~!" Ichiya said, striking a pose.
Garion walked up to Wendy. "Are... are you okay?" He asked, a concerned expression on his face. He didn't understand what the Trimens had been trying to do, but he had been able to see that it had made Wendy very uncomfortable. Wendy jolted as Garion spoke and she looked at him.
"O-Oh yeah I'm fine Garion." She said, still recovering from the experience of having the Trimens fawn over her. Garion's expression changed into a smile, and Wendy couldn't help but smile back at him. The two moved to stand next to Lucy.
A purple matt with spotlights appeared on the floor, Ichiya positioned in the middle of it. The spotlights activated, bathing the Blue Pegasus man in yellow light. He struck a pose. "Okay. Now that all the involved party's are present, I think its about time to get the mission briefing under way." He said in a serious tone.
"You're gonna brief us through interpretative dance?" Lucy asked sarcastically.
Ichiya ignored her and continued speaking. "Our first order of business, is determining the location of the Oracion Seis!" He declared. Nearly everyone regarded the man with a serious expression, the exception being Happy who was staring at Carla. "...right after I make a letter of the alphabet." Ichiya said, quickly moving to his left, still posing. The Trimens started clapping, offering a cheer of encouragement to their leader.
About a minute later Ichiya returned. "Much better! Now please, pay close attention..." He began. "To the north lies the Worth Woodsea where the ancients once sealed a powerful force. A magic... called Nirvana~!" The dwarf said the last word in an overly dramatic voice.
At the mention of the word Nirvana, despite not having ever heard it before, Garion felt a shiver run down his spine. "Those poses are getting really old." Gray muttered.
"Nirvana?" Lucy and Natsu asked at the same time.
"Never heard of it before..." Lyon said.
"Do you know what it is?" Sherry asked Jura, turning her head to look up at the wizard saint.
"No... I do not..." He said in a low voice, his expression serious.
"We don't know much about this magic other than its name, and that it is destructive in nature." Ren supplied. Garion immediately became aware of his heart beating in his chest and he took a deep breath to try and relax. Worry filled the pit of his stomach, not making his efforts at calming down work any better.
"And that the Oracion Seis wants it badly." Eve added.
"Destruction magic..." Natsu muttered.
"Okay... bad feeling confirmed." Lucy said, holding a hand to her chest. Wendy nervously swallowed and looked at Garion. The boy looked back and gave her a nervous smile, which calmed Wendy's nerves a little.
"We assume that's why they travelled to the Worth Woodsea. They're desperate to get their hands on such a powerful magic." Hibiki explained.
Ichiya fixed them all with a serious glare. "To prevent that from happening..." The Trimens then, as usual, struck a pose along with the dwarf.
"We must destroy the Oracion Seis!" All 4 representatives from Blue Pegasus declared.
"I'm so over the posing." Lucy muttered with a deadpan expression.
"I think they're starting to grow on me." Gray said.
Garion's bad feeling was temporarily suspended as he frowned at the Blue Pegasus members. Why do they act like that? He wondered. He wasn't judging them, he was genuinely curious as to why they acted the way they did.
"We may have the advantage in numbers but remember..." Ren started.
"We cannot underestimate them." Eve finished.
"They're incredibly strong, we may well be in over our heads." Hibiki said. He then raised his arm and snapped his fingers, summoning his archive magic. Garion's attention became focused on the magical display, his eyes widened slightly in wonder.
"That's archive..." Jura said.
"Don't believe I've seen it in use before..." Lyon added.
"And it does what exactly?" Sherry asked, not sounding the least bit impressed.
3 screens appeared in mid air in front of the group. "Storing information, such as these photographs of our enemies, don't ask how we got 'em." Hibiki said, not sounding offended or even annoyed at Sherry's comment. "First up is the snake wizard, Cobra."
"Beady eyes and a mischievous smirk? He looks like trouble to me." Natsu commented flatly.
"Talk about the pot calling the kettle black." Gray and Lyon said in unison.
"Next is a wizard who, judging from his name likely uses speed magic. Meet Racer." Hibiki explained.
"I don't know what it is, but I don't like the looks of this guy." Gray commented.
"I don't either." Lyon added.
"Then there's a wizard who's willing to wipe out an entire military unit, if the price is right. Divine eyes Hoteye." Hibiki said.
"The guy kills for money?" Sherry asked.
"Turns my stomach." Jura growled angrily.
"She's gorgeous but just as vicious. This is Angel."
"She's the beautiful but deadly type huh? Is this chick for real?" Lucy asked with a dead panned expression. Despite the fact his stomach had turned at least a dozen times in the last few minutes, Garion frowned at the name of the women. He then got an even worse feeling about her than the rest for some reason.
"The next member is such a mystery, all we know is his name: Midnight."
"That's an odd name, does it correlate to his power?" Erza asked.
"Finally, the commander of Oracion Seis. Brain." Hibiki said. When Garion laid eyes on the image of the dark guild's master, his stomach turned cold from fear.
"There you have it. Alone they can wipe out entire guilds and together they're unstoppable." Hibiki finished. Garion's stomach turned and he started hearing and feeling his heart pound in his chest again. "We have 13 to their six but that's our only advantage."
Lucy was trembling and Wendy had her hands held up to her mouth. "Question... can I volunteer to stay behind and not die today?" Lucy asked.
"I don't wanna die either so may I please go home?" Wendy asked, fear completely gripping the blue haired girl.
"You may not!" Carla snapped. "We have a job to do child!" She snapped.
"Since they didn't count us you wanna get out of here and find some trash cans to raid?" Happy asked dreamily. All he got in reply was a huff and Carla turning her nose up at him. Garion glanced at Wendy and his eyes widened when he saw how nervous she was. But before he could say or do anything the briefing continued.
"Curb your fear my friends." Ichiya declared, striking a pose. "There is more to our operation than mortal combat. With your help perhaps we can find the enemies stronghold!"
"Stronghold?" Garion and Natsu asked. And what's mortal combat? Garion pondered for a moment.
"Yeah you heard the man." Ren said. "We've looked everywhere but have had no luck."
"Here's the deal..." Eve said, and a screen showing the Worth Woodsea appeared in the air in front of him. "They've gotta have a temporary base in the Worth Woodsea."
"And once we've located it, our plan is to gather the Oracion Seis inside!" Ichiya declared.
"How do we do that?" Gray asked, not sounding convinced.
"WE BEAT EM' UP AND DRAG THEIR BUTTS THERE!" Natsu declared enthusiastically.
"He's a little too excited about this." Lucy said dryly.
"What's the next part of the plan?" Erza asked out loud. In response, Ichiya pointed to the roof, prompting everyone to look at the ceiling.
"Then... we'll give them a one way ticket to oblivion! Courtesy of Christina, the majestic pride of the Blue Pegasus guild!" Ichiya stated proudly. Everyone's eyes widened in surprise.
"I've heard about the magic bomber but I thought it was just a myth!" Sherry said in surprise. Garion was looking at the dwarf with an equally stunned expression. I-It's real!? It must be so cool! He thought, his innocence shining through despite his mood a few moments previously.
"Whaoh! Is that necessary, there's only six of them!" Lucy asked, stunned by the plan.
"That's the type of enemy we face!" Jura declared seriously. Lucy looked at him and almost jumped out of her skin.
"Sir yes sir!" She said fearfully. A shadow was cast over Jura's rock hard features, currently carved into a serious expression.
"Remember... under no circumstance should you ever engage the enemy in solo combat!" The wizard saint declared. "Our best bet is to separate them and devote two wizards to each fight. The remaining wizard can aid whoever is struggling the most." Everyone nodded in agreement.
"Uuuhhhhh this is a total nightmare!" Lucy whined, shaking from fear.
"I can't take the pressure!" Wendy squeaked.
"Would you two stop acting like children!" Carla snapped in an annoyed tone.
This did little to calm Wendy's nerves and and in fact only made her shaking worse. She didn't want to do this, she didn't want to be here, she was useless compared to everyone else and wouldn't probably be able to help that much and she'd probably be targeted because of her support mag-
"I promise I'll protect you Wendy."
Those words echoed in her mind. She slowly turned her head to look at the dual element wizard. Her stomach somehow dropped even further when she saw his nervous and fearful expression and her nervous shaking intensified. Almost as if he felt her eyes upon him, Garion turned his head to look at the blue haired girl. His eyes widened when he saw that she was in an even worse state than the last time he had laid eyes upon her.
He blinked and then he got the same gut feeling he'd had earlier. His nervous and fearful expression faded and was replaced with a determined yet kind smile. He reached over and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hey I promised I'll protect you Wendy, so don't worry." He said, trying to calm her down.
Wendy tensed up a bit more. "B-But this is so scary! I-I don't think I'll be much help... and I don't wanna die..." She stammered, casting her eyes downwards. Garion looked at her and tightened his grip on her shoulder, prompting the Sky Maiden to look back up at the boy.
"You're not going to die Wendy. I promised I'd keep you safe, and that's what I'm gonna do." His smile widened, causing Wendy to start to relax somewhat. "And don't worry, I'm scared too. I'm probably just as scared as you are. Also..." Garion's smile faded slightly. "... I'm not really that strong either... so I doubt I'll be much help... but I'll make sure that you're safe!" His grin returned in full force as he finished speaking.
Wendy stared at Garion for a few moments before a nervous smile spread across her face and she felt herself relax. "O-Oka-" she started.
The front door of the mansion exploded, courtesy of a certain fire-dragon slayer. "Natsu wait!" Erza demanded, but her command fell on deaf ears as Natsu charged off.
"Ready or not here I come!" The salmon haired boy yelled as he sprinted off. The 4 Fairy Tail wizards ran out the door, trying to catch up with him, but they stopped when they saw just how fast he was going.
"Where do you think you're going!?" Lucy shouted after Natsu, who was already too far away to hear her.
"Always acting without a thought in his head..." Erza stated, clearly sounding annoyed.
"Some days I wonder about his mental health." Lucy said despondently.
Gray smirked. "What do you guys wanna bet he didn't even hear the plan?"
"I'll bet five fish he didn't!" Happy added in.
"Didn't the wizard saint man say we shouldn't fight them in... er..." Garion scratched the back of his head, trying to remember the words Jura had used.
Erza let a small smile of amusement grace her lips and she looked at the young boy. "Solo combat Garion. And yes he did, but Natsu..."
"He ain't exactly the best at following instructions. Or even listening to them." Gray finished.
The rest of the wizards were looking rather surprised by Natsu's sudden relocation of the front door all across the surrounding area. The Trimens looked particularly miffed about the whole thing.
"Ugh... over kill much?" Ren asked, scratching his head.
"Yeah no kidding..." Eve added, a shocked look on his face.
Hibiki had a shocked and yet resigned look on his face. "Just great... we're gonna have to fix it..." he muttered, annoyed.
Erza looked in the direction Natsu had run for a few more moments before she looked at the group. "Enough gawking. Move." she said firmly, showing that it wasn't a suggestion, it was a command. She then turned and started running.
"Guess we're playing catchup with that dork." Gray muttered before he took off.
"Awwww do we have too?" Lucy whined.
"Double time it!" Erza yelled as she ran off.
"Quit crying!" Gray snapped at Lucy as she started running and crying at the same time. Garion was about to take off after them when he remembered Wendy was still there, and he turned around to look at the girl. The Trimens then ran off and so did Sherry and Lyon.
"Hey." Garion said, drawing Wendy's attention. The blue haired girl looked at him, her nervous expression having returned but not nearly as bad as it was earlier. He smiled at her. "Wanna get going?" He asked.
Wendy nervously swallowed and looked at him for a few moments. A nervous smile spread across her face and she nodded. "Y-Yeah!" She said, finding some courage. She looked down at Carla. "Lets go Carla. We need to catch up with them r-right?" The sky maiden said, trying to sound brave but it was obvious she was still nervous. The white furred Exceed regarded the girl for a moment before she nodded.
"Indeed. Let's be off then." She curtly said. Garion looked at Wendy and smiled again.
"I'll go first." He said. Wendy and Carla nodded in agreement and they set off, Garion keeping his eyes, ears and magical sense open and alert with Wendy and Carla following closely behind him. The three were unaware of Happy following a fair distance behind them and shouting to try and grab Carla's attention.
The three entered the Worth Woodsea a few minutes later, following the magical signature of Natsu and the others, and both Wendy and Garion shuddered slightly as they did so. The eerie atmosphere and strange feeling of it was something that Garion most certainly did not like and he became even more alert, keeping his magic on standby. As they cleared the trees and gained sight of Team Natsu and the others Garion's head snapped back and he looked around at the sky.
"What's wrong?" Wendy asked nervously, her eyes now darting about. As they reached the others, Garion suddenly stopped and looked up at the sky, his eyes wide from amazement.
"Whoa..." He muttered. Wendy followed his line of sight and her eyes also widened when she saw the Magical bomber Christina, the pride of the Blue Pegasus guild, flying over-head.
"It's so cool..." Lucy, who was standing nearby, said in amazement.
"Horses can fly too?" Happy asked, a stupefied expression on his face.
"Please refrain from opening your mouth again." Carla said bluntly.
"All right, lets split up and start searching for their temporary base." Erza ordered.
"I'm flying the bomber thing!" Natsu yelled, an excited grin spreading across his face.
"Not happening!" Gray rebuked. Before any further conversation could take place, the right wing of the magical bomber exploded, causing it to suddenly jolt to the left. Everyone's eyes widened in shock and a few people let out stunned gasps.
"What's wrong with Christina?!" Hibiki demanded in a panicked voice. Several more explosions racked the legendary airborne vessel, large amounts of machinery and parts of its hull being blown off and sent tumbling towards the ground.
"Oh no!" Wendy gasped, her hands held over her mouth in shock. Garion's jaw had dropped and he felt cold fear run through him as the Christina crashed landed, a massive explosion erupting as it did so. Everyone was frozen in shock.
"This doesn't bode well!" Lyon chocked out in a panicked voice. A massive cloud of smoke rose from the crash sight, blocking the view of the forest in front of them. "No way... its... its been..." Garion muttered. A moment later he sensed several magical signatures approaching from on front of the group and he tensed up.
"Gray..." Natsu said seriously.
"I know, we've got company..." Gray said angrily. "Everyone stay frosty!" The ice wizard ordered. The entire group tensed up and readied for battle.
"I'm not sure I can do this!" Wendy whined from her position behind a large rock.
"Don't hide!" Carla snapped.
6 figures appeared in the smoke. They grew more distinct with each passing second and eventually the Oracion Seis came into view. "Yeah it's gotta be them... the Oracion Seis..." Lucy muttered. The dark guild members regarded the allied forces with looks ranging from indifference to cocky smirks to a strangely happy expression on Hoteye's face. Brain tilted his head forwards slightly and started speaking.
"Lowly maggots... swarming together." The leader of the Oracion Seis muttered.
"I'm afraid short stuff isn't going to make it to the party." Angel taunted.
"And neither is that big bald wizard saint... we took him down!" Gemini said cheerfully.
"They're defeated!?" Lyon asked, shocked.
"Impossible..." Hibiki stated, equally as shocked as Lyon.
"No way..." Garion muttered.
Cobra smirked. "There's terror in their voices, I can hear it!" He said.
"The quicker we wrap this up, the better. I'll run you over so fast it'll make your head spin!" Racer stated confidently.
"Money determines strength in this world, Oh yeah! If you save but a penny today, it shall become a vast fortune in the future! Furthermore..." Hoteye declared.
"Enough with the preaching Hoteye." Racer and Cobra said in unison.
"Is it weird I'm terrified of the snoring guy?" Lucy asked as she looked at the sleeping form of Midnight, the mysterious wizard sitting on his floating carpet and snoring loudly.
"I have to admit I didn't except you to show yourselves." Erza said seriously. Silence fell between the two groups as they weighed each other up. The cold feeling in Garion's stomach had gotten worse now that he was face to face with the dark guild, but he retained a determined expression on his face as he stared down the dark wizards.
Natsu cracked his knuckles and grinned. "Ready?" He asked Gray.
"You bet." The ice wizard replied, a grin spreading across his face as well.
Cobra smirked again. "Want an invitation?" He taunted.
"You being here is enough for us!" Gray and Natsu yelled as they charged the dark wizards. Before they could reach the dark wizards, Racer disappeared and a moment later re-appeared between the two. Before they could react the dark wizard kicked them both in separate directions. The rest of the legal guild wizards rushed in to the battle, engaging various members of the Seis.
Garion looked to see who would need his help, but before he could do anything Racer appeared and kicked him in the side, sending him flying through the air. "Too slow kid!" He yelled, a moment later appearing directly in the path of Garion's flight, ready to deliver another blow. Before the dark wizard could however, Garion unfurled his wings and changed course so Racer's kick missed him by a hairs breadth. The young boy summoned a ball of light in his left hand and fired it at Racer, only to gasp in pain when the speed wizard effortlessly dodged it and delivered a powerful kick to Garion's stomach, sending him flying into the ground a few meters away. Racer then moved off to engage the other wizards as Garion struggled to his feet.
When he looked around his stomach dropped. The Trimens, Gray and Natsu were already down for the count. Lyon and Sherry were still struggling against Hoteye and Erza was engaging Cobra. Garion looked over at Brain who was observing the fight with a blank look on his face and Garion felt his stomach drop further. I-If they're beating us and its only 4 of them... H-How will we be able to beat all of them!? He wondered. Cobra obviously heard Garion's thoughts and glanced over at the boy, a smirk on his face.
"It's simple kid. You won't." He taunted as he dodged a swipe from Erza. "You can't hope to beat us..."
"Don't listen to him Garion, we can defeat them!" Erza yelled as she once more took a swing at Cobra, her leopard armour vastly enhancing her speed.
Cobra's smirk grew. "Tch, keep lying to yourself then Titania." He taunted, saying Erza's title almost as if it were an insult. "And I wouldn't try helping kid." He added as he ducked under another swipe from Erza. "Of course you can try, but I'll be able to predict all your moves... so it won't even make a difference." Garion was about to do something when a darkness coated fist slammed into his face, sending him crashing to the ground. When he managed to look at his attacker, he was shocked to find... himself.
"How DARE you wear the wings of an angel!" Angel snapped, a look of fury on her face. "You make a mockery of what they are, wearing those wings. You do not deserve them!" She said. A sadistic smirk spread across her face. "And so, for daring to try and claim to be like an angel, I will punish you. Gemini, tear them off with his own hands."
"Yes!" Gemi-Garion said enthusiastically, his arms coated in dark magic and a disturbing smile on his face. Gemi-Garion reached down to grab Garion's wings, but the moment he made contact with them they vanished. Garion rolled onto his back and punched his off-guard clone in the face with a darkness coated fist. He then followed up with a darkness strike enhanced upper-cut, knocking his copy into the air. The celestial spirit spun around in the air to face Garion and unleashed several spheres of dark energy, forcing Garion to evade. As he dodged them however, he noticed something odd.
His magic power is lower than mine... and these attacks feel... different. Almost... not quite like my magic... In fact as each second passed, he noticed that the attacks just got a tiny bit weaker. Before he could perform any kind of counter attack, Racer appeared and kicked him in the back, sending him flying to the ground. "Come on Angel pick up the pace and stop messing around!" Racer chided.
Angel tch'd. "Very well then. Gemini, finish him off with his light magic."
"Aye!" Gemi-Garion chirped. His darkness magic faded and a moment later, just like when Garion revealed them, two white wings formed on his back, the mark of Fairy Tail in the midd-
"AAAAGGHHHH!" Gemi-Garion cried out in pain, his wings suddenly fading as he collapsed to the ground. His body started to convulse as the celestial spirit screamed in pain, and he clawed violently at the ground. Garion, from his position on the ground, stared in shock at his clone as it's body almost started to break apart, cracks forming on its skin. Angel, realising what was happening, immediately issued Gemini a command.
"Gemini release the transformation at once!"
Gemi-Garion's body was coated in light for a few brief moments before Gemi and Mini separated. The two then, without Angel's consent, returned to the celestial spirit world. Angel glared daggers at Garion, furious and confused. She started to reach for another of her keys.
"Garion..." Brain muttered, looking at the boy in question with a shocked look. Cobra, who had just defeated Erza, glanced sideways at his guild master.
"Eh? That kid? What about him?" Cobra asked. Curiosity got the better of the snake wizard and he decided to listen in on the boys thoughts. He first saw Garion's life at the guild, then the jobs he went on, then his interactions with his guild ma-
"AGH!" Cobra cried as he pressed his hands to his temples, his face contorted into a visage of pain. Racer glanced at him, a small frown on his face.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"That damn kid..." Cobra muttered. He looked at Garion, a sneer present on his face. He glanced at Racer. "I'll explain later." He said.
Brain suddenly grinned. "After all this time... and I even gave up looking for you..." he said. All the members of the Seis turned to look at him, many of their brows raised.
"W-what...?" Erza asked from her location on the ground, her face twisted in pain as the poison of Cubellious started spreading through her body.
"Brain? What are you talking about?" Racer asked. His guild master glanced at him before looking back at Garion.
"This little child here happens to be the user of two extremely rare magic's, Angels Light Magic and Demons Darkness Magic, and if I'm not mistaken, has an extremely large amount of natural magical energy and talent. I was very interested in studying them and learning what they could do back when I first heard of them, 14 years ago." Brain's sadistic grin spread further across his face. "But of course, your parents had to get in the way."
Garion's eyes widened. He couldn't even speak, he could only stare motionless and completely shocked at Brain as he spoke. "It was rather irksome when they spirited you away like that, right before I was about to get my hands on you. Of course... they paid for it in the end..." The dark wizard said almost with dark glee. "But now... you are no longer of any interest to me." Brain raised his staff and started gathering magical power. "Prepare for oblivions embrace!" He said. Dark green tendrils of power emerged from the ground around Garion and the others, and Garion felt sick to his stomach at just how evil it felt. It started to drain his strength and as Brain build up more magical power, the dual element wizard found himself shaking from fear.
"DARK RONDO!" Brain chanted, but before he could finish casting his spell, he noticed Wendy. His magic power faded and a shocked expression formed on his face.
"What's the matter Brain?" Racer asked.
"Are you gonna cast that thing or what?" Cobra asked.
"Wendy..." Brain muttered in a tone filled with disbelief. He stared at the sky maiden. In reply, Wendy slid even further behind the rock she was using for cover.
"What's the matter Brain? You gonna cast the spell or what?" Racer asked again.
"Do you know her?" Cobra asked.
"No doubt about it, that's Wendy." Brain said. "The maiden of the sky."
"What? Maiden of the sky?" Gray asked, looking at Brain with a confused expression.
"Wendy...?" Garion asked, struggling to turn around to look at the blue haired girl. He had no idea what 'Maiden of the Sky' meant, or what Brain wanted with her, or how Brain even knew about his parents, but one thing was clear to Garion: He had to protect her. He tried to stand up, his body sore from the blows Racer had dealt to him.
"To think we simply stumbled upon her here. We've made quite a find my friends." Brain said, a twisted smile on his face. "Grab her!" He held his staff out and it launched a green steam of his darkness magic. It arched over the group and grabbed Wendy, the girl screaming in terror as it did. The hand then started to pull her back to Brain and the Seis.
"Wendy!" Happy and Carla cried out. They took off after her, running as fast as they were able. "Unhand her now!" Carla demanded.
"Help me!" Wendy cried out. The tendril of magic holding her shook suddenly and weakened. She turned around to see Garion with an arm coated in light with what looked like a blade sticking out trying to cut through the darkness magic. His efforts were in vain as Racer appeared a moment later and kicked the boy away.
"Not so fast buddy!" He taunted before returning to his previous position.
"Grab my paw!" Carla ordered. Wendy reached out and grabbed... Happy's paw. "You've got the wrong cat!" the white furred Exceed snapped. Moments later, Wendy and Happy disappeared into Brain's staff.
"WENDY!" Garion, Carla and Natsu cried out, but Garion was the loudest.
"I have no use for the rest of you, begone! Dark Rondo!" Brain said as he unleashed the attack. As it bore down on the allied forces, everyone tried to get to cover, but it was no use. Garion felt fear paralyse him, and he couldn't help but watch as the attack got closer and closer.
"IRON ROCK WALL!" A deep, booming voice roared. As if commanded, the earth moved and formed a barrier above the allied forces. The Dark Rondo harmlessly slammed into the solid earth roof above the wizards. "Just in the nick of time..." Jura muttered as the attack ended.
"That was awesome!" Sherry cheered. Hope surged in the allied forces as Jura walked amongst them.
"You're the best wizard ever!" Eve praised.
"I'll second that. We owe you one." Hibiki added, his voice filled to the brim with relief.
"Yeah we were almost goners, thanks a million!" Lucy added.
Natsu forced himself to his knees. "Okay, lets take em down!" he said. The smoke cleared to reveal that the Oracion Seis was gone. "Huh?"
"Their long gone by now." Gray said, despondently.
"What!? We let them get away!" Natsu complained.
"Oh Wendy..." Carla said, her voice filled with worry.
"They wiped the floor with us..." Ren hissed.
"Well they're a lot stronger than we are. We never stood a chance against them." Eve said.
"The Oracion Seis... what unbelievable power..." Lyon muttered. Anything further that was said, Garion didn't hear. He was on his hands and knees, a shadow over his eyes. He stared at the ground, completely unmoving.
I failed.
The words rang through his mind. He'd failed. He'd made a promise to Wendy, a promise that he would protect her, and he'd failed. His fingers dug into the ground and he started shaking. The relieving feeling of Ichiya's painkiller parfum went unnoticed by Garion as it swept over him. I made a promise and I couldn't keep it... The words repeated in his mind. Garion had always managed to keep his promises, especially ones like the one he'd made to Wendy. But now... he'd failed... and when it had mattered most... now Wendy was a prisoner of the Seis, and she probably blamed Garion for it. He felt anger and frustration build inside of him at his failure to defend Wendy and he dug deeper into the ground with his fingers.
A minute later Garion removed his fingers from the ground and stood up, most of his anger and frustration having faded. He looked around, all the other wizards were moving off into the nearby forest and Garion followed them. We have to rescue Wendy. He thought. Although he was now resolved to rescue Wendy, he still felt guilty. The group entered the forest, and Garion was shocked when he saw the state Erza was in.
"You okay?" Natsu asked, his tone worried.
"What's the matter?" Lucy asked.
"Erza?" Garion asked, alarmed. The S-class wizard cried out in pain.
"I'm no doctor but it looks like the venom from her snake bite is spreading." Lucy said worriedly.
"Master Ichiya!" Eve said, sounding alarmed.
"I got this men..." Ichiya said confidently. "I know what you need my honey... a little pain killer parfum! AROMA INCREASE!" He commanded, doubling the output of his painkiller. It had no visible effect on Erza and she actually seemed to be in even more pain.
"Since when are painkillers an antidote for snake venom?" Lucy asked.
"This parfum does more than ease pain it also has a cleansing effect, it'll help her body expel any toxins." Hibiki explained.
Garion frowned, not quite understanding what Hibiki had just said.
"Oh yeah!" Eve said. Unfortunately despite the increase in magic, there was no visible change in Erza's condition.
"Erza! Are you all right?" Gray asked worriedly.
"It seems like she's in even more pain now!" Natsu stated, his voice sounding as equally worried as Gray's.
"Erza!" Garion cried. Her magic power was dropping steadily with each passing second, adding to Garion's worry.
"Huh? You think so?" Ichiya asked, sounding flabbergasted. Erza's screams of agony confirmed Natsu's observation. "Oh maaaan..." Ichiya said, who was starting to sound worried.
"Erza... hang in there!" Natsu said.
"What'll we do?" Lucy asked.
"I'm sorry... Lucy... I need to borrow your belt..." Erza said. Gray, upon realising what Erza was about to do, immediately grabbed Garion's shoulders and spun him around so he was looking away. The boy blinked in confusion and looked around.
"Gray? Why are-" He started asking.
"It's not important Garion take a look at those tree's. Hey doesn't that one look interesting!?" Gray asked, panic in his voice. Garion didn't catch Gray's tone of voice and just gave the ice wizard a confused look.
"Somebody cut it off." Erza mumbled, drawing everyone's attention and shocking them all.
"At least give us time to find an antidote!" Gray snapped.
"I don't... have time..." Erza struggled to say.
"Very well." Lyon said, lifting the sword that Erza had slammed into the ground. "I will do it."
"How kind of you..." Sherry said in awe.
"Put down the sword!" Gray ordered.
"Do it!" Erza mumbled, her tone as equally as commanding as Gray's.
"NO DON'T!" Gray snapped.
"Um... Lyon... are you seriously gonna do it?" Lucy asked.
"We can't lose one of our strongest when facing such a powerful foe." Lyon said, his voice set and serious.
"B-But we can't cut off Erza's arm!" Garion complained, now feeling panicked.
"Oh come on! I can't believe we got stuck with you wimpy fairy's! Quit whining your friends gonna die if we don't do something to help her." Sherry said with disgust.
"Your friends gonna die if he doesn't put down that sword!" Lucy said threateningly to Sherry.
"Why is that? This is just his way of showing love..." Sherry muttered.
"Just hurry up and cut it off! Before the venom spreads to the rest of my body!" Erza ordered.
"Put the sword down!" Gray ordered again.
"Don't do it! You wanna be known as the guy who maimed Erza!?"Hibiki yelled.
"You don't have to do this! Stop, we can find a cure!" Eve pleaded. He started moving towards Lyon but was stopped by Jura, the massive wizard saint giving him a serious look.
"We have no right to interfere with her wishes." Jura said.
"Ready?" Lyon asked, raising the sword above his head. He brought it down a moment later, only for it to be blocked and break some of the ice that Gray had formed over his hand in order to block the blow that would sever Erza's arm. "Her arm is more important to you than her life?" Lyon questioned. "Where are your priorities?!" He demanded.
"This'll affect her for the rest of her life so we can't jump the gun! There's gotta be another way we can save her!" Gray rebuked, staring into Lyons eyes with a look which clearly showed he didn't plan on letting Lyon touch Erza.
"You're just as spineless as ever. Figures." Lyon said.
"I really thought you had changed, but your just as shady as ever." Gray retorted.
"Guys we really need to-" Garion started, extremely worried by the actions of everyone present. He was cut off when Erza let out a cry of pain before she passed out and collapsed.
"Erza!" Natsu said alarmingly.
"Oh no!" Lucy cried before she rushed forwards to the S-class wizard.
"We need to find a way to cure her!" Garion stated. "Otherwise..."
"We need Wendy, she could save your friend." Carla said, drawing everyone's attention. "This is no time for us to be bickering amongst ourselves. We need to work together to come up with a plan to rescue Wendy." She said. "And I suppose that tomcat too." The white furred Exceed added as an after thought.
"Wait so does Wendy have a magic that can heal Erza?" Garion asked. Carla nodded.
"Yes she does. And its not just anti-venom, she can cure fevers, relieve pain and heal wounds." The Exceed explained.
Ichiya looked extremely alarmed by this revelation and shot over to stand next to Carla. "Um excuse me but I feel as though my role in the group is being threatened and I find that rather unsettling!" The dwarf complained, albeit whilst striking a pose.
"That's crazy, everyone knows healing spells are lost magic. There's no way the kid could use them." Sherry said flatly.
A look of realization spread across Lucy's face "Do these powers have anything to do with the whole 'Maiden of the Sky' thing?" She asked.
"Yes it does!" Carla said, turning to look at Lucy. "You see that little girl is the Sky Dragon Slayer, she's Wendy the Sky Dragon!" The white furred Exceed exclaimed. To say Garion was shocked would be putting it mildly, his eyes were as wide as they could be and his jaw had nearly fallen off. This was shared by many of the other wizards, most of them were too flabbergasted by Carla's revelation to even say or do anything aside from gawk at the Exceed.
"She's a dragon slayer too!?" Natsu demanded.
"I'll give you all the details later. Although to be honest there's not much more you need to know." Carla said. She glanced over at Erza. "Wendy is the only wizard capable of saving your friend. We need her right now! Unfortunately the Oracion Seis feel they need her too for some unknown reason."
Garion felt a pang of guilt when the Seis was mentioned. His expression then became determined and serious. "Then I guess that means... there's only one thing we have to do... we have to rescue Wendy!" Garion said. Everyone gave an affirming nod to the young boy.
"We'll do it for Erza's sake!" Gray said.
"And Happy's too!" Lucy added.
"Okay! Are you with me?" Natsu demanded, raising his fist into the air as he did so.
"Yeah!" All the other wizards cheered in unison, raising their fists into the air as well. Garion had only one thought as the group cheered.
Wendy... Happy... just hang in there... we're coming.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter and please leave a review telling me what you thought, Thanks for reading!