Chapter 33 – Knightwalker's Light
Hello people, Insane Dominator is bringing you yet another thrilling chapter! I'm pretty excited to be getting close to the Arc I made that'll be right after this one, but I'm still working out the final details.
Alpha Dragonis: I don't mind one bit if you use ideas from me, I'm more than willing to give ideas that'll be beneficial to both our stories in general.
Okay people, ready for another chapter? Then here you go! Chapter 33!
To Recap:
Within Nic's rage that Knightwalker had set off, he mercilessly attacked Knightwalker and Sugarboy, unlocking the Draco Plate out of rage and nearly killing them, but they narrowly escaped. Nic and Sophie soon meet up with Gajeel and the three made it to the Royal City, where all three met their counterparts. Nic's was revealed to have a history with him in the Mirror World in Kalos, and that explained why the two got along so well. The six then snooped around town and saw the giant lacrima and hear King Faust's speech and the six left the scheme.
Chapter 33 – Knightwalker's Light
When the next day arose, the group had set out to initiate their strategy as to how the lacrima would be reverted back into their friends. Edolas Sophie had regrouped with Edolas Gajeel to explain the plan and he followed through. Their objective was to find a weakpoint in the guard posts around the lacrima.
As they were wandering through the plaza, Edolas Sophie looked confused. "Wait, what are we doing again?"
"We're trying to get the soldiers to come to one side so Gajeel can get at the lacrima." Edolas Gajeel said.
"Wait…there's another Gajeel?!" Edolas Sophie exclaimed, to which Edolas Gajeel chuckled while shaking his head. He then looked up at where Gajeel was positioned, up high on a building and waiting to strike.
Not too long after, crowds began emerging and the two made another attempt to find answers. Edolas Sophie went behind a soldier posted in front of the lacrima.
"Oh look, a parade!" She saw drums and masked people coming forth and saw Magic Staves equipped to drain Magic. She then looked at her notes and then remembered what to do. "…Okay." She then turned towards the guard. "The process is going to begin soon."
The guard nodded. "The kingdom will be much more stabilized."
"We're on the south side, right? You guys look pretty big in numbers." She reasoned.
The guard then explained. "Well only here, not anywhere else because there's not enough room for anybody to hide."
That was the ticket she needed and she made a façade in the form of a surprise. "Really?"
The guard realized what he said and turned towards Edolas Sophie, of whom was a journalist. "Gah! Please don't write that in the article! It'll get me in trouble!"
Sophie smiled. "Relax, I wouldn't dream of being accountable for you getting fired for such a claim."
The guard was eased and Edolas Sophie walked off. Within the crowd, she gave Edolas Gajeel her notes that she would've forgotten and he understood fully.
"So there's troops stationed on the north and south, but weak in the east and west. According to this, the ceremony will be held on the south side." Edolas Gajeel muttered. He then looked back up towards where Gajeel was stationed, tipping his hat and he pointed towards the south side of the lacrima.
Gajeel looked to see the area around the lacrima and he grinned as Edolas Gajeel and Sophie both ventured off towards said area. Gajeel's grin widened. "I see, this'll be fun."
Gajeel made his way down to where the crowd was, still cloaked with a hood and glared at the ceremony that was about to get underway. Edolas Gajeel and Sophie were both stationed right next to the other, awaiting for the chance to come.
When the masked guards emitted a blue light from their scepters moments later, the chance had finally arrived. Edolas Gajeel and Sophie both brought out what seemed like a cylindrical rod and a fellow crowd folk took notice.
"Hm? What's that?" He asked.
Edolas Gajeel turned with a fake smile. "Oh these? They're fireworks for the ceremony." He then turned towards Sophie. "Associate, if you would demonstrate?"
"Demonstrate what?" She asked.
"The fireworks."
"Oh right!" Edolas Sophie then pointed it upwards and a firework exploded in the sky, making the crowd very much pleased.
What they didn't realize was that Gajeel took notice that the firework spelled out the latter 'N'.
"Guess one isn't enough!" Edolas Gajeel then pulled out four more. "How about some more!" He then shot all four up consecutively, each one exploding and bursting, giving the crowd even more satisfaction.
Gajeel took notice that the fireworks then spelled out 'O', then 'R', and then 'T' and 'H'. Gajeel then pieced it together. "North?"
Edolas Gajeel then tipped his cap. "And the rest is up to you." He turned away. "Come on Sophie."
"What are we doing again?" She asked, following Edolas Gajeel. He simply sweatdropped and the two proceeded out of the crowd to allow Gajeel to take care of the rest.
"Soldiers!" Gajeel announced with his back turned. "That must be some kind warning! We have to protect the lacrima! I suspect there's someone suspicious on the north side of the plaza!"
The guards were left shocked. "What?! That's the rear side of the lacrima!" "We don't have many men positioned there!" "Keep your forces here and I'll take mine north! Push the crowd back for their safety!"
As the crowd was ordered to move back, Gajeel remained still and smirked. "Alright, it's time." He said under his breath.
"We said move back!" A soldier ordered to Gajeel. All the Iron Dragon Slayer did was turn around towards the guards and lacrima and threw off his cloak, revealing himself.
Gajeel then lunged at the soldiers. "Iron Dragon's Club!" His attack then bashed through several soldiers at once, knocking them all down to the ground. Gajeel then went for the lacrima. "Iron Dragon's Sword!" He then went and pierced the lacrima in a small area.
"I'm not done yet!" Gajeel then jumped into the air and brought the sword down on the lacrima yet again, breaking even more of it. It was after that attack that the lacrima started glowing and shining a harsh light.
Gajeel landed on the ground and he saw through the light and he went wide-eyed. "Whoa…no way…"
Gajeel and everyone else witnessed the lacrima shrinking and then separated into two entities. When the two human-size lights faded, it revealed themselves to see two Fairy Tail members.
It was Erza and Gray, though the latter was shirtless.
Gajeel looked on as the two were on their knees. "Looks like Luminous was right after all, it was only a chunk." He noted. He then yelled out to the two. "Alright you're free, so look alive!"
Erza and Gray got back to their feet in no time and they opened their eyes, revealing that they were in an unknown place.
Gajeel grinned. "I was worried they'd fried your brains."
"Gajeel?" Erza loked with surprise.
Gray then turned and looked about, seeing the craziness that was happening. "Hey, what's going on?"
"We can talk later, right now we gotta scram!" Gajeel warned as soldiers were coming at them.
As soldiers were coming at them, Gray put his hands together, but no Magic was present. "What?! I can't use my Magic!"
"Seriously?!" Erza tried summoning a sword, but that proved useless as well.
"I said we'll talk later! Iron Dragon's Roar!" Gajeel unleashed a whirlwind of iron that had send almost everything flying, leaving the three a path and an escape route.
When the trio was clear and in a safe location, Gajeel turned towards the confused duo.
"How come you were able to use Magic?" Gray asked suspiciously.
Gajeel grinned and held up the glass bottle filled with X-Balls. "I'll tell ya once you take one of these."
"What is it?" Gray asked.
Erza was fed up at this point. She had an armored hand to her hip. "Enough waiting, tell us what happened."
"The two of you were turned into a giant lacrima." A voice called out, Gajeel turned with a grin to see his counterpart walking up towards him, with Edolas Sophie as well.
"Told ya it would be easy." Gajeel said.
"Indeed, but I'd expect no less from Earthland me. I knew you were the right man for the job." Edolas Gajeel said.
"Wait, what job?" Edolas Sophie asked.
Gray was baffled. "Sophie?! And two Gajeel?!"
"There's two, and what's with Sophie?!" Erza shouted. Gajeel walked on over to his counterpart and grinned.
"Although we do look alike, we are quite different, Edolas Gajeel at your service."
"And Edolas Sophie and…! Oh my god! Two Gajeels!" Edolas Sophie gawked, making Gray and Erza sweatdropp.
"Wait, what do you mean we were turned into a giant lacrima?!" Erza shouted.
The two Gajeel and Edolas Sophie then explained as to how they got to Edolas through an Anima and were turned into a giant lacrima to fuel Edolas's limited Magic supply.
"I know it's crazy, but all of the Earthland Fairy Tail Mages will be turned into power for the King to use." Edolas Gajeel explained. "The one in the plaza was quite large and at first, but Nic Pularis and his counterpart figured there was a main lacrima."
When Erza heard Nic's name, she almost jumped. "Wait, Nic's here?!" She demanded, almost anxious for an answer.
Gajeel sweatdropped. "Yeah, apparently he and that Sophie chick made it to Edoas just like I did; apparently they ran into your counterpart Titania."
Now Erza was even more shocked. "Wait, what?!"
Edolas Gajeel then explained. "It's presumed that Earthland and Edolas are counterparts of the other, and right beside me is the Edolas version of your guys' Sophie. The real Sophie is out near the King's domain, trying to understand what the King has in mind."
Gray had his arms crossed. "So you're saying we all have a counterpart of sorts?"
Gajeel then continued. "Yeah, and apparently Nic came across Titamia's…and let's say it was very unpleasant." He got nervous as he recounted the memory. "When Edolas Erza tried to kill them, that Luminous went crazy, and in turn nearly killed her."
Erza and Gray were very much surprised. "What?!" Erza shouted in shock, hearing that Nic went on a rampage again.
"Yeah, he tore your counterpart up really bad, and not long we regrouped and got a strategy to free you." Gajeel finished.
Erza wanted to ask so many questions, like how was Nic doing? What did Erza's counterpart do to set him off? Was he alright? Where was he right now?
Gray intervened. "It's nice to know that Nic saved his own skin, but what is that stuff you're forcing on us?"
Gajel then presented the X-Balls. "These are called X-Balls, and apparently you can't use your Magic unless you've eaten one of these."
Erza looked at one of these pills in her hand and looked back at Gajeel. "Oh? And who told you that?"
Gajeel grinned. "It's what Mystogan said before we came here."
"You saw Mystogan?!" She exclaimed.
Gajeel grinned. "Yeah, he got me here while Luminous and Sophie came here by themselves."
Then then heard something from afar, and the entire group turned and tensed, expecting guards. Fortunately, it was just Sophie on Nebulus's Charizard. When they arrived and Charizard landed, they had a look of shock when seeing Erza and Gray right there.
"Guys, you're alright!" Sophie exclaimed. "It looks like Gajeel's Dragon Slayer Magic was the key."
"Key?" Gray asked.
Gajeel turned towards the confused bunch. "Yeah, Dragon Slayer Magic is much different here in Edolas, it even had the power to reverse you two back to who you are now." This earned a gasped from Erza and Gray. "Once Luminous and his counterpart find that main lacrima, then I get to work."
Edolas Gajeel then turned towards Sophie. "At any rate, what did you pick up?"
Sophie looked down at the ground. "Not good one bit. They've captured Natsu and Wendy and are going to use their power to exterminate the Exceeds."
This made Edolas Gajeel and Edoas Sophie gasp. "Those poor…what are they again?" Sophie face palmed.
Nebulus's Charizard then turned to them and explained. "They're what your friends Happy and Carla are. The King wants to use Natsu and Wendy's power to activate this device called the Dragon Chain Cannon and use the main lacrima and crash it into Extalia, which will make Magic rain down." He then looked up into the sky. "Nebulus and the rest of us for that matter have been in Edolas for awhile, and presuming from what we've heard and gathered, the humans believe the Exceeds are superior."
Everyone there gasped and Sophie continued from that point.
"I've heard this all while I was blending into the crowd that the King made an announcement called 'Code ETD'. He wants to use the lacrima that's high in the sky and crash it into Extalia."
"…I see. Try and locate Luminous and have him go and find Salamander and that Wendy girl." Gajeel said.
"He's doing that as we speak." Sophie said. "He told me to pass it onto you Gajeel…"
With Nic and Nebulus, a few minutes earlier…
As Nic used Dragon Breath while in his Draco Plate Form, Nebulus dealt with a multitude of guards with his hand-to-hand combat, which outclassed the spears they wield. Nebulus's Charizard was also present and using Flamethrower to scare the soldiers off.
The two Nics objective in this mission was to locate the main lacrima, and nobody told them that it was high in the sky as of yet.
"Find it yet?" Nic shouted over towards his counterpart before moving his head in an arc and using Dragon Breath yet again, cutting down more forces.
Nebulus shook his head after knocking a soldier into countless others just with a mere punch. "No. not yet."
The two Nic were back-and-back to the other as they examined the reinforcements surrounding them, of which Nebulus's Charizard easily breezed through with Heat Wave from above.
"Nice work Charizard." Nebulus thanked.
Just after the reinforcements were cut down from that Heat Wave, Sophie appeared and was running towards the group. "Nic! Second Nic! Glad I found you!"
Both Nics and Charizard turned towards Sophie. "Sophie!" Nic shouted. Sophie finally caught up and she took a brief moment to catch her breath. "I take it that your part of the mission was successful?"
Sophie nodded. "Yeah, while sneaking around the borders of King Faust's domain, I saw him turn an Exceed into a lacrima, saying he'll initiate something called 'Code ETD'." She explained.
Both Nic were held up in shock. "An Exceed turned into a lacrima?" Nebulus asked.
"Right, and I heard him say he'll unleash something called a Dragon Chain Cannon…" Sophie went on in brief detail as to how King Faust had captured Natsu and Wendy and shall use their Magic to destroy Extalia, which left them all in surprise.
"He's going to destroy innocent lives!" Nebulus retorted. "We need to stop this mechanism at once!"
Nic turned towards him. "Now hold on. First off, this mechanism is powered by Dragon Slayer Magic, meaning if my guess is correct, it'll be just as effective as Gajeel's."
"Hold on, if I'm understanding you correctly, you're saying that if we turn this thing on the giant lacrima, it may have a possibility of reversing your friends, yes?" Nic nodded in agreement to Nebulus's statement.
Charizard turned towards the sky above, seeing something far upwards. "Guys, far up in the sky!" The group then turned their heads upwards and saw what Charizard was looking at. They were slightly baffled that they didn't know that there was a heap of rock far up in the sky, barely visible. "That must be it!"
Nebulus gulped. "Yeah, no wonder we couldn't find it."
Nic narrowed his eyes and turned his head to look at Sophie. "Sophie, go find the others and spread this information. Tell Gajeel that he'll be in charge of reverting everyone." He explained.
Nebulus turned towards his Charizard. "And you Charizard, assist Gajeel and get him up there."
"Okay, but what about the two of you?" Sophie questioned.
Nebulus and Nic turned to look at the other and back at Sophie. "Tell us where we might find Natsu and Wendy…"
With Sophie and co
"And that's what he said." Sophie finished. "So Gajeel will be hauled into the sky by Charizard to revert everyone while Nic and his counterpart finds Natsu and Wendy."
"Boy, talk about thinking ahead." Gajeel wondered.
She nodded. "Yeah, you'll be heading up to the lacrima as to where the rest of us will head over to help Nic." She then paused. "They asked me where they were and I saw Happy and Carla carrying Lucy towards the west tower. And then they were gone just like that."
Erza turned towards the group. "Alright, listen up. We'll rendez vous with Nic and we'll stop the Dragon Chain Cannon from activating. Edolas Gajeel and Edolas Sophie, see if you can find help."
"You can count on us. C'mon Sophie." Edolas Gajeel then turned, with Sophie smiling back at them and leaving.
"Later whoever you are!" She shouted before the two left at last, allowing for Erza, Gray, and Sophie to make way towards the tower, leaving Charizard to carry Gajeel up with one huge flap of his wings.
Just like that, Charizard shot up like a rocket, Gajeel holding on as they ascended with no time to waste.
As they were making way up into the sky, the two took notice of the huge blue lacrima on an island in the sky. "We're closing in! You know what to do?" Charizard asked.
"Well duh!" Gajeel shouted. "I did what that Mystogan guy said, so don't go being the supervisor!" As the two were closing in upon landing on the island, Gajeel realized just how humungous the lacrima was compared to the one in the plaza. "Man, that thing is humungous. Talk about a high maintenance guild." He joked, looking at the size of the lacrima.
As Gajeel cracked his knuckles, Charizard narrowed his eyes upon sensing something from behind and he pivoted and caught a glimpse of a sword swinging downwards, and a super large one. Upon his second-nature reflexes, he got in front of Gajeel and used Dragon Claw and struck the downward sword strike, making a small burst of energy that made Gajeel turn his back around and see a small explosion and dust fly about.
Gajeel covered up and skid back a few feet. He looked back and saw that Charizard's interception was a success, as both were unharmed by the flying Exceed known as Panther Lily.
Gajeel looked in shock. "That cat's got a major sword!"
Panther Lily held his huge sword, which was the Bustermarm Sword. The sword was four times bigger than Panther Lily and was decorated to look like a monstrous cat's face. "I am the Edolas Royal Army's Captain of the First Magic War Division, I am Panther Lily!"
Charizard and Gajeel both sneered as Panther Lily continued to speak. "I must protect this lacrima, and so you shall fall!" He then went in and attacked. "Buster Bomb!"
He brought the huge sword down again, but Gajeel and Charizard both countered with an Iron Dragon's Sword and Dragon Claw combo, making a full-scale explosion that mad a small fraction of the ground shake and get chunked off.
When everything cleared, Charizard was in the air against the Exceed and Panther Lily was glaring at both Gajeel and Charizard. "I must say, nobody has countered my attack!" He the rushed in again. "But it proves fatal!" He swung the sword at Charizard, but the Fire and Flying-Type effortlessly dodged and he quickly appeared behind Panther Lily, startling the latter. "What speed!"
"Flamethrower!" Charizard gushed out a stream of fire that Panther Lily was too slow to react to and he was hit as he turned around and flew downwards towards Gajeel. Gajeel jumped and he readied a morphed arm.
"Iron Dragon's Club!" He unleashed a long column that struck Panther Lily in the back, making him gawk and he was forced back towards Charizard.
"I'm feeling up for volleyball! Flamethrower!" Charizard gushed out another stream of intense fire, but Panther Lily flapped his wings and ascended to avoid the stream of fire that struck the ground rather close to Gajeel, practically melting it.
'Just what is this creature? And that one with the iron morph is a Dragon Slayer.' He turned towards Gajeel and looked down on him. "I will not concede to you."
Gajeel grinned. "I was hoping for a fight!" He turned towards Charizard. "Hey you, go find your master! I can handle this guy with ease!"
Charizard wanted to stay and fight, but seeing the serious look on their faces, it was fair to believe this matter is best left with one-on-one. Charizard then turned with no objections down below.
"Come back coward!" Panther Lily shouted, ready to swing at him, but Gajeel cut him off with a column of iron that got in his way, forcing Panther Lily to look at Gajeel.
Gajeel smirked. "He ain't running, he just knows when it should be a one-on-one fight, right?"
Panther Lily took a moment to consider and grinned. "I don't know whether you're foolhardy or valiant. Let's find out!" The two then began their solo fight.
With Lucy
Lucy was on the ground, very much exhausted as Knightwalker was with several soldiers behind her. Knightwalker had her Ten Commandments, but it was still damaged. Her shoulder and arm had popped back in place, but you could see bandages as a sign it was still fractured and almost broken. Her body was still covered in scrapes and scratches, but nevertheless her demeanor was ruthless still.
As she was on the ground, Lucy could've heard screams of pain coming from Wendy and Natsu down the hall. "What are you doing to them?!" Lucy demanded, not able to move well.
Knightwalker smiled. "In order to terminate the Exceeds, we must acquire power from the Dragon Slayers present."
Carla was on the ground as well, hearing Wendy scream. "No…please stop." She muttered. The screams from Natsu and Wendy from down the hall wasn't coming to an end, and a fellow soldier had Happy in his arm.
"We've captured the Fallen." He then tossed Happy on the ground in front of Knightwalker, who stepped forward.
"Happy!" Carla shouted in concerns.
As Happy was coming to a stand, Knightwalker was above and she gave a grin. "Time to say goodbye!" She was then bringing down the spear and suddenly a huge icy mist clouded up everything and Knightwalker blinked and jerked back, turning back and seeing where the mist was coming from, sparing Happy. "What's going on?"
Everyone turned to see two figures walking through the mist and towards them, stopping when at a close distance.
"You've got a lot of nerve hurting our friends lady!" The male voice shouted. "They're with us and you went and messed with them!"
"Anyone who would lay a hand on our guild mates shall be dealt with accordingly." Female voice said.
"And anyone from Fairy Tail for that matter will not tolerate such mistreatment, so you better prepare your wills!" A second female voice said.
The figures were revealed to have been Gray, Erza, and Sophie, in that order.
Lucy could've sworn she had a smile on her own face upon her friends at the rescue. "Gray! Erza! Sophie!"
As the last bit of mist cleared, the guards plus Knightwalker were left in shock, seeing Erza, Gray, and a familiar Sophie from last time. Knightwalker's eyes have shown deep shock, seeing another version of herself glaring at them coldly.
"Wait, Captain Erza?! Gray Surge?!" "No, those two are Earthlanders" "How did they get here?!" The guards were baffled beyond recognition.
"Where are our friends?!" Sophie shouted, making a quick chain of memories that turned into Pyro Saucer. The attack rushed at the guards and they hollered as they fell to the ground with little resistance. Knightwalker dodged just in time and jumped from the curved ceiling and aimed her Ten Commandments at Gray and Sophie alike. Before she could hit them, Erza summoned a sword and intercepted the spear, making a huge amount of wind fly.
The two glared at the other coldly as their weapons pushed one another back.
"I…It's Erza against Erza…" Lucy muttered with a slight tint of fear.
A faint voice cried out down the hall. "You've asked for it! I'm gonna beat the crap out of you all!"
"Natsu!" Lucy shouted, hearing his voice.
"Go on guys! I can handle this!" Erza urged, staring at her counterpart the entire time. The three made a getaway as Erza and Knightwalker clashed their weapons yet again, and when they separated with a screeching echo, ERza had a small cut on her cheek while Knightwalker had one on her nose, otherwise the two were unfazed.
"I never imagined I would've fought against myself." Knightwalker admitted before she moved her left arm to adjust her spear, but flinched upon the pain of moving it. She grunted and resumed. "I'm the Captain of Edolas's Second Magic War Division. My name is Erza Knightwalker."
Erza remained calm as she had previously saw Knightwalker flinched upon her injury from Nic's rampage a couple days ago. 'So it was true. Nic nearly did kill my counterpart.' Erza stated in her thoughts. "I'm an S-Class Mage from Earthland's Fairy Tail. My name is Erza Scarlet."
Knightwalker grinned. "It's nice to meet you in battle Earthland version of me, now let's see what you're made of!" Her Ten Commandments changed into Silfarion, surprising Erza. Knightwalker rushed in, with Erza barely dodging the first time.
"She's fast!" Erza admitted, seeing Knightwalker turn back and strike with her spear yet again. Erza slashed and the two weapons made a clang sound with sparks flying. Knightwalker zoomed about with Erza following close behind.
"Requip!" Erza glowed and she requipped into her Flight Armor to be on par with Silfarion. The two females zoomed into each other repeatedly, slashing and clashing, and repeating.
'She changed her armor and her speed had suddenly increased?' Knightwalker was left stunned, but still aware of Erza rushing in from in front, slashing her sword. Knightwalker jumped and dodged with ease, changing her spear as she was in midair.
When she landed, she aimed the spear at Erza. "Mel Force!" A huge vacuum wave swallowed up Erza, sending her smashing through a solid wall and grunting when her back hit the next wall behind. Knightwalker jumped and her spear changed yet again and it glowed red.
Erza was slumped on the ground, getting up and seeing the spear change. "A Requip? No, she's just altering her weapon."
"Explosion!" She brought the spear down like a hammer, unleashing a massive explosion that destroyed the wall and send debris flying everywhere, not to mention dust as well.
Erza was in the room behind, which seemed like a cement block passageway with King Faust statues all around.
Erza was fast enough to have been saved by requipping into her Flame Empress Armor, and her Fire Sword was sizzling from the heat given off by the attack, otherwise no damage.
Knightwalker went into the room and saw Erza's Requip, shocking her. "How does she keep transforming her armor like that?" She asked herself out loud. "Your Magic allows you to change your armor and sword simultaneously?" She asked, jerking her left arm in the pain still.
"Seems unfair isn't it?" Erza said, looking in Knightwalker's perspective. "All you can do is alter your weapon."
Knightwalker grinned. "Perhaps, but my battle prowess alters along with my weapon."
"That's the same concept as The Knight Requip that I use." Erza said in relation to their changing weaponry tactics.
Knightwalker held her spear up. "Let me give you-!" She grunted as her shoulder blade was in agony still, so she was forced to keep the spear below her head. "Damn these injuries." She cursed.
Erza tightened her hold on her sword. "It seems Nic did an even greater number than I have imagined." She then gave a soft smile. "Perhaps I need to thank him the next time we met."
Knightwalker rushed towards Erza, the two clashing their weaponry and there was yet another explosion from the one Knightwalker had upon contact, sending debris scattering and making the passageway rumble with a strong magnitude. The two Erza's clashed yet again, and another explosion engulfed them, making even more debris fly and the two skid away from the other. Erza lunged with ferocity and Knightwalker jumped, missing and slicing off a chunk of a statue with ease.
Knightwalker turned towards Erza and sung her spear, primarily with her right arm, and Erza looked back and dodged by keeping backwards to her left, covering up as Knightwalker's Explosiojn destroyed the rest of the statue.
By now, the area was desecrated with rock and little debris, to which fell pass the passageway into the darkness below.
Knightwalker and Erza zoomed into the other yet again repeatedly in a matter of a few seconds, slashing with ferocity and accuracy that made sparks fly and various areas get sliced up. The two were on par and Knightwalker and Erza both slashed once more, their weapons clashing and the two giving off monstrous battle cries and glares.
They didn't realize that Natsu was free and he had just entered the domain, apparently angry. "I'm coming for you sick jer…" He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the two Erza's attacking the other, making scary faces and growling.
What Natsu saw was pure terror and his face turned purple. "GWAAHHH! TWO ERZA'S WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!" He rushed off in the direction he came from, scared out of his pants.
The two Erzas didn't notice as they were trying to take down the other, the passageway was nearly cracked and rocks were falling from their sheer force.
"You're skills are on par. I must admit it is rather impressive seeing how you have that left-sided injury." Erza pointed out.
Knightwalker grunted, panting as she was barely keeping up since her body wasn't fully recovered. "Consider yourself lucky, but I'll make this go by even quicker!"
From somewhere far out and upwards in the passageway, two figures watched the battle that raged.
"This takes us back, right?" He asked his counterpart.
The second figure, revealed to be Nebulus, smirked. "Indeed, though those two don't really seem menacing."
"Agreed, but that was because we were maiming the other. Those Erzas down there are merely barking at the other compare to what we did." Nic reminisced.
"Yeah, I couldn't feel anything for two weeks."
"Same."
The two saw the two Erzas glare at the other and Nic turned towards his counterpart. "I think it's time we stop this madness. Agreed?"
Nebulus turned towards him. "Yes."
As the two Erzas were closing into the other, a battlecry from each one, they suddenly stopped when two figures appeared out of nowhere, stopping in the midst of their way. The two Erzas were left frozen and wide-eyed as both Nic and his counterpart were side by side, but Nic was looking at Erza while Nebulus was looking at Knightwalker.
Erza (Scarlet) was left in deep shock. She knew Nic was here, but didn't expect to see him here as of this moment, but something in her went off. She had shaken eyes, yet they were soft. She wasn't exactly sure whether it was because she was glad to see him after such a long time, or she was satisfied knowing she had backup. "N-Nic…?"
Nic (Pularis) let a soft grin loose as he looked at Erza. "Hi Erza."
His counterpart glanced over at Nic and Erza, letting a brief smirk cross his face and then he narrowed his gaze at Knightwalker, who was left in deep shock.
"We admit, both of you are fierce battlers." Nebulus said.
"But we don't have a lot of time, and we don't want a repeat of what we went through." Nic added. "So we'll take over from here."
Erza requipped into her Heart Kreuz Armor and looked with surprise and shock. "What did you say?"
Nic's soft gaze then turned serious, his grin disappearing. "You heard us Erza. As much as I would like to catch up and watch you beat Knightwalker, we can't afford to waste time." Nic then turned away, both Nics facing Knightwalker. "I know you want things settled Erza, but somethings are simply too obvious to realize."
Nic made a point and Erza stepped back as she took into account the left-sided injury Knightwalker possessed.
Knightwalker shuddered immensely and was shaking with a tint of fear and adrenaline. "It's you!" She howled, pointing her spear at Nic. "You monster! Y-You did this to me! Scarlet, stand aside! I got a score to settle with this one"
Nic wasn't moved by Knightwalker's shuddering, and nobody blamed her. If Erza (Scarlet) was there or in her place, she might be terrified of Nic as well.
Nic and his counterpart glared at Knightwalker and back at the other. "Shall we?"
"You're not gonna transform into a new suit like that dragon one?" Nebulus asked.
Nic snickered. "Now that wouldn't be fair to myself; besides, our hand-to-hand combat is more than enough anyways."
Nebulus showed his teeth. "True. In that case…" He then crouched down and he slowly took off the leg weights he had, hearing the clanging as they dangled from Nebulus's hands. "Now this is much better."
Knightwalker raised a brow "You think you can beat me by dropping a couple of pounds of weight-?!"
Nebulus smirked and then dropped the two leg weights beside him, making the passageway shake immensely, startling both Erzas alike, and Knightwalker was left pale from the sheer sound of the crash of the weights.
"Just how heavy were those things?" Knightwalker muttered.
"Now I can move freely." Nebulus said, cracking his knuckles that echoed. "Now, it's time we show Knightwalker the error of her ways!"
"It's time she sees the light!" Nic shouted. The two Nic's then dashed into Knightwalker, both on par with speed this time and Erza (Scarlet) was left wide-eyed.
'They're working together?!' She thought.
Knightwalker gritted her teeth and she changed her spear into the Double Dragon Spear. The spear divided into two, one blue and one red. The blue spear has a triangular-shaped diamond pommel, with the head having a plain, triangular blade with simple ornaments. The red spear had the same concept and design, but in red. The heads of the two spears had fire and ice with their respective spears.
Knightwalker yelled as she slashed her two spears, though her left arm was slightly off and the stream of fire was off by a few feet. The stream of ice and fire shot at the two Nics, but each one ducked and they lunged into Knightwalker's abdomen with a double fist, forcing her back several feet with a skid.
She winced and looked at the two. 'They were in sync? Impossible. How could they…?'
Nebulus rushed in at blinding speed, startling Knightwalker and he stopped right in front of her and he got to his hands and swung his feet about, making Knightwalker trip and she started falling backwards. As she was doing so, Nic rushed in and used his counterpart's back as a springboard and he flipped in midair and came down directly above Knightwalker, stomping her into the ground and making her gag, leaving her in a crater.
Nic jumped off with a backflip and Nebulus cupped his hands and Nic landed on them and sprung off them again with a backflip in the air and Nebulus jumped and Nic had an arm out and grabbed Nebulus while in midair and spun and shot Nebulus towards Knightwalker like a missile. Knightwalker went wide-eyed and she jerked back up and leaped away to avoid an incoming Nebulus, but Nebulus was no slouch as he quickly got his feet under him before landing and he leaped from where he landed and lunged forward and grabbed Knightwalker's right leg, shocking her with his combat skills.
Nebulus didn't hesitate as he pivoted and hurled Knightwalker behind him towards Nic, who drove a knee straight up exactly at the point when her back was close enough and it brought her up a few feet with a gag and Nic did a spin and swatted her with a backfist, all in less than a second's time.
Knightwalker grunted when she went face first onto the ground. Erza (Scarlet) was wide-eyed, seeing as how both Nics were equal in speed, offense, reflex, reaction timing, and dishing out the hurt onto Knightwalker. 'Those two, even though they're different, they act as if they know what the other is thinking.'
Knightwalker jerked up, fairly exhausted with more scratches and she winced in pain from her fractured shoulder blade. She tried to ignore it and used the blue spear to fire ice at Nic (Pularis), but he shifted right and evaded with ease. Both Nics rushed from behind and forward as Knightwalker jumped so she could see the two run into the other, only that didn't happen.
The two Nic's smirked and then Nic crouched and skid and Nebulus jumped over him and jumped onto Nic's back and using his back this time as a springboard and jumped up towards Knightwalker and scored a vicious uppercut to the jaw, rendering her immobile as Nebulus grabbed her scarf in midair and did a three-sixty spin with her and tossed her straight downwards, where Nic had just stopped skidding and came lunging back with an elbow strike right into Knightwalker's right biscep, making her yelp and she tumbled onto her side and Nebulus was coming down and landed his two feet on Nic's shoulders and jumped off from there and did a flip in midair and was directly above a tumbling Knightwalker a came down with a vicious foot and crashed right into Knightwalker's back, forcing her to stop tumbling and she yelped and debris went flying.
Erza was just watching in even deeper awe as the two Nics were taking on Erza without letting up. She was witnessing Nic's hand-to-hand combat at potentially its highest level quite possibly, but then again she had no idea just how much more combat training Nic taught himself. Though she had to admit it was nice to see him kick her Edolas counterpart, as to where they were practically on par. Erza admired how Nic's counterpart and himself were as one.
Nic stepped off of Knightwalker and landed right by his counterpart's side, both witnessing a scratched up Knightwalker slowly rise back up, though she nearly toppled over. She face very much exhausted.
"Knightwalker, this has gone on long enough." Nebulus stated. "Please surrender and you won't have to take anymore."
"Never to the likes of you!" Knightwalker pointed her two spears at the two Nics and a torrent of fire and ice surged in one attack rather than two. The two Nics then acted as quick as they could and Nic shifted towards his left while Nebulus shifted right and the two passed the torrent and rushed in from opposite sides and pivoted and turned towards Knightwalker, the two doing a double knee strike and turning to make it a round-house knee strike, ceasing her torrent that missed and she landed on the ground with a thud.
Knightwalker opened her eyes and she somersaulted backwards and got to a knee, exhausted. She looked over at Nic and her eyes were glaring harsh daggers, but Nic was left unfazed, and in turn was making her even more nervous. "I will kill you for what you did to my reputation!" She swore.
Nic and Nebulus both narrowed their eyes and glared coldly as Knightwalker lunged with her two spears changing into her single spear that was her Silfarion yet again and went at them with blinding speed.
The two Nics then waited until the spear came at them in a horizontal slash, to which they timed perfectly and did a unison jump and a unison kick right into Knightwalker's face. The two landed and as Knightwalker was falling backwards, Nebulus grabbed her left wrist while Nic grabbed her right wrist with the spear and yanked her forwards and delivered a unison punch with their opposite fists, landing hits in her cheeks and making her tumble backwards and land on her abdomen.
Knightwalker tried one more time to stand, and she panted like crazy as her face was bruised quite a bit, including the rest of her body. "Damn you both."
Nebulus narrowed his eyes. "Knightwalker, stop."
But the only answer they got was Knightwalker rushing at them both with a fury to match an angry Ursaring. The two Nics then waiting as Knightwalker let loose a batlecry while zooming towards them.
The two counterparts thought nothing of it as they dashed forward and evaded the spears trajectory, startling Knightwalker. Nebulus lunged forwards as Knightwalker practically came his way and he rammed his fist into her gut, making her gag. Nebulus didn't let up as he then elbowed her abdomen, and then unleashed a vicious multitude of punches, all of which Knightwalker was unable to evade nor block. When Nebulus gave a left hook to her face after the consecutive fast punches, he brought his right leg forward and gave a searing kick that send her flying straight up. Nic jumped and stood on top of Nebulus's shoulders and had caught her legs and he jumped off from his counterpart's shoulders and slammed Knightwalker's entire body into the earth, making debris fly.
Knightwalker could barely move and she only saw blurs as Nic then whirled her up into the air and he did a handstand with bend knees. His counterpart then dashed and turned while jumping so as to land on the feet and looking up at a sailing Knightwalker. When Nic kicked, Nebulus shot at Knightwalker with a full-scale knee strike to the back. Knightwalker yelped as her Ten Commandments fell out of her grip and dropped to the floor, meaning she was left open.
Nebulus then grabbed her wrist while still in midair and turned their bodies so they were vertical and he spiraled repeatedly and he let loose a battlecry as he spiraled and smashed Knightwalker into the floor full-force, making immense amounts of dust fly and winds scatter as they heard bones and debris crack.
When Nebulus got to his feet and back towards Nic's side, the two, and Erza, looked and saw an unconscious Knightwalker lying in a crater.
The two Nics turned towards the other. "That took long enough." Nebulus said.
"Yeah." Nic turned towards him. "I gotta say, you're combat skills are just like mine. They weren't so reckless like last time.
"Well, like you do, I started training with my Pokémon to understand them more, understand their pain, and now I see just how demanding I was." Nebulus stated.
Nic grinned. "Well, at least you changed for the better."
"True. I guess if not for you, I wouldn't have defeated Diantha myself."
Erza was left in deep, deep shock. She used Magic and yet she was on par, and yet two Nic's outclassed Knightwalker with mere combat expertise. 'Amazing. Nic was able to take down Knightwalker. Of course I wonder how they know each other.' She was left curious, but chose to keep it settled as she walked up to the two Nics and they turned towards her. "I appreciate your efforts in stopping her you two."
The two nodded and Nic turned towards his counterpart. Nebulus pulled out some handcuffs he found while coming here and he placed them behind Knightwalker's back, keeping her hands from moving. Her Ten Commandments was close by, but no one touched it.
Seeing Knightwalker there, unconscious, for some reason, it made Nic feel…guilty. He frowned and Erza saw it. She looked to see Nic frowning as Knightwalker's face, all bruised and yet so peaceful. Erza looked back at Nic and he looked down at the ground and contemplated.
He then walked forward, shifting into his Mind Plate and he knelt down at the unconscious Knightwalker. A light pink ball of energy appeared in between his hands. "Heal Pulse." The orb broke apart and a multitude of waves of light pink energy made contact with Knightwalker. Nebulus remained calm, understanding what Nic was doing.
Erza watched in shock as Heal Pulse made the bruising on Knightwalker go away, and the scratches on her seemed to decrease a lot. Erza blinked. "Nic?"
When Heal Pulse was finished, Knightwalker had no bruises, but a few scratches and a peaceful face. Nic slowly got up and looked down at the ground. He slowly clenched his fists as a silence brewed.
"I don't know, but…seeing that face, good or bad…I just can't leave it like that." He muttered. "Whether it'd be you Erza or Knightwalker, I can't leave someone who could have a chance to reform behind like this."
Hearing this, Erza fully understood what Nic meant. He didn't have the heart to leave her in a bloody pulp like that unless like last time. Erza slowly smiled and walked up to Nic. When she stood in front of him, he looked up at her.
"Don't worry." Erza said. "I would've done the same thing." She then made Nic and Nebulus both look away as Erza copied Knightwalker's hair and attire.
The two then looked back and shared a smile and a brief moment to look at each other after such a long time, and Nebulus blinked and saw the connection, and he snickered in amusement.
Nebulus then turned to look at the two "Hey you guys, I got this. I'll watch Knightwalker and you two worry about your friends; and while you're at it, stop that cannon too."
Nic then got serious and reverted back into himself. "Understood. Let's go Erza!" Nic then dashed off with Erza following behind. At least Nic could face Erza once more.
This left Nebulus to look at Knightwalker, who was already coming around. "You know…" Nebulus thought, seeing her calm face as she stirred. "She does actually look pretty when not being sadistic."
Knightwalker started to slowly open her eyes and she realized she was on the ground. "What happened…?" She tried moving her hands to get up, but she couldn't for they were handcuffed behind her back. "Handcuffs?"
"I gotta say, you had some endurance taking all those attacks from me and the other me. You were lucky that we didn't rearrange your body parts for the killings you've committed." Nebulus said.
Knightwalker sat up and looked at Nebulus. "It's you…no, you're Nic Pularis's counterpart."
"Relax Knightwalker, the matter is settled." Nebulus stated. "So don't go picking fights like you did."
Knightwalker growled and she was more than willing to grab her spear and drive it into Nebulus's throat, only two factors came into play: Nebulus was a master of hand-to-hand combat like Nic, and her hands were cuffed.
Knightwalker watched as she saw Nebulus walk on over to where he dropped his leg weights and he strapped them back onto his legs. "Even if you do kill me, it won't change anything." Knightwalker stated.
Nebulus turned towards her and blinked. "Who said I was gonna kill you? Who said anything about anybody dying? Not on my watch."
Knightwalker moved her shoulder and arm, and she felt them feeling much better than the time she fought Erza. Nebulus explained. "My counterpart healed you. He felt it wouldn't be right to leave you in the state you were in." He walked on over and sat in front of her.
"Why?" Knightwalker asked, confused. "Even if he's my enemy, he should've left me to die."
Nebulus shook his head. "Knightwalker, listen." He then looked to his right, spacing out. "We're human, but that doesn't mean we can treat each other like rag dolls that can be disposed. I won't deny that human nature has it's downsides like greed and selfish desires." He then looked back at her. "But from those traits, compassion and understanding are born."
Knightwalker scowled at him while looking away. "Why's it matter? So what about human nature? It doesn't change the fact that.-."
"It does matter Knightwalker." Nebulus butted in. "Nic could've killed you, yet he didn't. Why? Because he would feel guilty. He doesn't take lives that actually have a chance to live." Knightwalker whipped her head towards Nebulus with a gasp. "You tell me what one thing the King has done for you that you should be grateful for. Slaughter innocent Fairy Tail members? There's nothing grateful about that. You tell me Knightwalker." He paused. "You tell me, how would you feel if you were in their shoes at Death's door before they drive their spear into your heart?"
Knightwalker looked down at the ground, pondering and suddenly feeling a sense of guilt run through her. "Why are you telling me this? You know we need Magic to live."
Nebulus narrowed his eyes and looked to his right again. "If that's true, then why are you still alive?" Knightwalker went wide-eyed and gasped. "You don't have Magic and neither do I. True, Magic is nice to have, but it's not a factor in survival."
Nebulus looked back at Knightwalker before speaking yet again. "Knightwalker, I'm much like my counterpart. From where I come from, we humans don't use Magic. We only have the resources and some valuable creatures to help us as long as we help them."
"What are you saying?"
"From where I come from, there's these creatures called Pokémon. They don't have 'Magic' per se, but they do have unique traits that make them powerful. Think of them in relation to Exceeds in that sorts. But they don't trump us, and we don't trump them. We work in symbiosis and learn from the other."
Knightwalker's eyes were soft as she heard Nebulus speak of these humans and creatures working together. "So…you're saying…that you live in peace with them?"
"Most if not all, yes." Nebulus then got quiet and he looked back at Knightwalker, his blue eyes seeing into hers. Knightwalker saw Nebulus's eyes have a strong sense of guilt. "Sometimes Pokémon despise humans, and sometimes humans abuse them…I was unable to comprehend that fact. I only sought power and glory. And that brings me to why I'm telling you all of this. It's because I was just like you, until three years ago."
Knightwalker blinked in curiosity, her killing intentions gone. "What? And why did you interfere with me and Scarlet?"
"It's because me and my counterpart did the exact same thing, and we don't want a repeat of that incident…"
The two blood-crazed Nics yelled at each other as they charged closer to each other, the two finally colliding and their heads smashing into the other and both blood red eyes staring coldly into the other as their heads bashed like two Rampardos.
Nic shoved Nebulus's head with his right arm and used his left arm to push Nebulus's head into the ground, but Nebulus grabbed Nic's left arm and pried it off of his head and hook punched Nic's gut, making Nic jerk and Nebulus drove a power crazy knee into his face, making Nic stumble back, but Nic was not even remotely out.
Nic instantly jerked forward and his fangs bared as his left arm choked his counterpart and he repeatedly bashed his fist into his face with fury. Nic kept this up until his counterpart struck and clenched Nic's rib cage, breaking a few bones and you could've heard the cracking sound, and Nic shook his head and roared, backing off briefly and Nebulus brought a hammer fist downwards onto Nic's head. Nic nearly face planted, but he got his feet under him and he used the momentum and drove a forceful blow into Nebulus, making the monster gag blood.
"PERISH!" Nebulus shouted, driving a knee into Nic's face before he could throw another punch.
"YOU WATCHED YOUR SISTER SUFFER! YOU SICK DAMNATION!" Nic bellowed, ignoring the bruises on his face and the two heinous beasts charged at each other yet again, bashing their bruised heads and they shoved the other away, leaving scrapes on their faces and Nic and his counterpart didn't let up as they both turned back towards the other and their fists collided, making the air ripple with their hands cracking. Nic lunged his left hand and grabbed his counterpart's face and tossed him towards his left, where Nic struck by bringing his arm back and yelling as he rammed his fist deep into Nebulus's abdomen, making him cough up blood.
Nebulus snarled and didn't bother to stutter back as he forced an uppercut that made Nic lose oxygen and didn't get enough time before Nebulus brought his arm up and brought down a hammer fist on Nic's left shoulder, the power of the force completely popping it out of place, making Nic gag and Nebulus drove a fist deep into the gut, making Nic cough up his own blood.
Nic and Nebulus looked dead into the feral eyes of the other, still not budging briefly before Nic grabbed the fist that was still connected and he yanked so hard on the left fist that the left arm of Nebulus also got dislocated, and Nic snarled as he turned his hand, ultimately twisting the wrist joint.
Nebulus yelped and he snarled back, turning the pain into anger. "WHY WON'T YOU JUST GIVE UP?!" Nebulus used his only available arm and he grabbed Nic's face and drove him backwards into the ground, and he didn't let go as he snarled as he made Nic skid, as though he was dragging him. Nic, while still getting skid harshly on the ground, brought his right leg up and struck Nebulus's right thigh, making him stop getting dragged and Nic jerked up with a frenzy and struck the thigh yet again with his right elbow, making Nebulus screech.
Nebulus barrowed down and struck Nic's already severely scraped back with a double hammer fist, the force equal to a Hammer Arm that broke a few parts of Nic's spine, making him stiff briefly and Nebulus struck a left knee to his face, making Nic fly backwards and cough up blood.
Nic hit the ground and immediately made a counter by swerving onto all fours and charged at a low altitude again. Nebulus did so as well, but he was slowed down by the thigh attack. The two Nic's left arms were out of commission, so they only their right fists to clench the other's neck and bring the other forward into a headbutt yet again, making them jerk back. Neither side refused to quit, and Nic brought his hand back and lunged it forward and grabbed the already dislocated arm of Nebulus and let out a disastrous batlecry as he brought it up and then twisted the entire arm with raw power, making Nebulus scream in anger and agony.
Nebulus wanted payback more than anything, so he grabbed Nic's left shoulder that had the dislocated arm and he brought his bruised leg up high and gave a severe kick, breaking the shoulder bone and making Nic screech in pain.
Both Nic's were devastatingly exhausted as their Frogadiers watched from the tree they rested on with horror on their faces.
Nic snarled, his left side and ribs hurt severely. "YOU'RE GONNA REGRET NOT SAVING YOUR SISTER!"
"THE HELL WITH THAT! I REFUSE TO BE WEAK!"
"SUCKS TO BE YOU, BECAUSE YOU ARE!"
"DAMN YOU!" Nebulus shouted, smashing his fist into Nic's already hurt left ribs, breaking almost all of them in one shattering impact. Nic's face twisted almost entirely as he felt all torn up, but wanted to trash his counterpart and he drove his right fist into his counterpart's left side as well, snapping a few ribs of his own. Both Nics were in the most unimaginable pain you could ever imagine, and yet they refused to keel over.
Nic and his counterpart snarled even more and Nic rammed head on into Nebulus's sternum, making Nebulus gag as he had no oxygen for five seconds as Nic bashed him into a tree. Nic clenched Nebulus's throat with only his right arm and he resorted to driving his knee into his gut again, but Nebulus thought the same thing, both knees colliding and the knee caps vibrated with such force. Both of them yelped and Nic backed away, and allowed Nebulus to grab a low tree branch and completely snapped it off of the tree like a twig with his right arm, and this was one of those skinny yet sturdy branches.
Nebulus brought it up like an axe and brought it down, using only his right arm, but Nic's feral eyes showed defiance as he grabbed it with his right hand as it was coming down. Nic snarled in searing pain as he yelled and snapped the branch in half, half in Nebulus's hand and the other half in Nic's. The two bared their huge canines as they swatted each other across the face, making a snapping sound as the left sides of their cheeks was dark red blood from the whack. It was so powerful the separate branches snapped even more, rendering them useless.
The two were practically shaking as they had blood loss, bruises, searing pain, dislocated joints, and broken bones. "I AM NOT WEAK! I NEVER WILL BE!" Nebulus defied as he lunged a right fist.
Nic came forth as well, but at the last second, he opened his fist and caught Nebulus's fist and twisted the wrist, making him scream. "YOU ALWAYS HAVE BEEN!" Nic thrust Nebulus into the same tree, this time harder, and both Nics stared coldly as Nebulus was pinned against a tree by Nic having his left knee in his abdomen since his left arm was no good, but Nic himself had just about had it.
The two coughed up blood at the exact same time, their blood colliding in the air and splattering back on their faces. The two heaved with hot blood all over their faces and blood-crazed looks. Nebulus couldn't use his arms and his right leg was bruised badly and yet he used it too much. His left leg was able, but he was weak in the left side.
Nic brought a fist back and let loose a battlecry at a pinned Nebulus, the fist coming ever so closer to smash Nebulus's face into the tree. Nebulus's snarl turned into a flinching gasp as he knew this was the end for him.
There was a very harsh crash sound and Nebulus heaved as he went wide-eyed when he didn't feel dead. He looked and saw that Nic was giving the coldest stare that any beast would give anybody, blood red eyes dialing down to a light pink and heaving as his fist was two inches to the left of Nebulus's head, embedding the tree and leaving Nic's knuckles bruised to the upmost degree.
Even the two Frogadier were baffled. "(Whoa…just…whoa…)" Nebulus's Frogadier muttered.
Nebulus slumped down when Nic retracted his knee, but he fell to the ground and both spit up a little bit more red and now Nebulus's eyes were a light pink. As Nebulus was slumped to the ground and Nic was heaving and panting like his counterpart while looking up at the sky.
"…you…you didn't finish me?" Nebulus heaved, the blood clearly on his face and he had his anger calm down.
Nic didn't even have the strength to move his head. "…No…it's just not worth it."
"You're twisted…I swear."
Nic raised a brow, which was the only thing he could do. "Do you know why I spared you?"
"Let me guess, so that you could gloat?" Nebulus scowled before clenching his left rib cage.
"No, because I know what it's like to be weak." Nic said. There was a long pause before he continued as he looked up at the sky. "You and I are much different. I was the one to have been the mistake. My parents abused me for fifteen years, practically scarring me for life."
Nebulus looked away. "And what does that have to do with how strong you are? I still can't believe I lost to you, twice now."
"It's because I was helpless for fifteen years that made me strong." Nic reasoned, confusing Nebulus. "I endured Hell for fifteen years, and I was nearly dead a couple of times, but I pulled through because I believed one day that nightmare would soon end." His eyes softened as he smiled. "The only other motivation I ever had other than my phone really to keep me sane and alive was my sister."
Nebulus went wide-eyed when he heard this. "That's right Nebulus, while you were pampered, I was tortured for the amusement of my parents. While your sister was suffering just like I did, my sister was healthy…but you know…she never felt truly happy." His smile vanished. "My parents considered my sister their new lease on life, and they treated her like a princess. Whenever they saw me, they'd wanted me battered, not accepting their past. I suffered endlessly, glass hitting me, deprived of food and water like a dog, I was even forced to stay outside for the winter. The only reason I survived that entire time was because my sister Vanessa saw how much pain I endured, how I put up with it, and how I took every single beatdown so that she wouldn't have to go through it."
Nebulus was completely speechless. He had no words to describe what his counterpart had went through. Nic continued. "My sister smuggled food and water when they weren't home, and she would be there for me to comfort her big brother. She was the only real thing that made me smile in my childhood." Nic started to get misty in the eyes. "I was her only role model. She despised our parents for what they did to me. We were the only family to the other, and Vanessa would pull off a fake façade just so she wouldn't suffer like I did. I would gladly take every beating for my little sister just so she would be safe and unharmed." A small tear streamed down Nic's bloodied face.
Nebulus was imagining the horror as Nic continued even more. "When there was a tiff a few months ago, my sister tried protecting me for once in her life. She got yelled at like I did and she got smacked so hard she almost fell unconscious. I snapped and I battered my parents, but they got the best of me. I got stabbed in the abdomen, and tortured with Magneton shocking me so hard my nerves stiffened. I nearly died that night and fled to find help the next day, but the police caught me. I spoke in front of everybody present and my parents almost killed me in front of the police, but they stopped them, but they were super violent as they almost killed a few themselves." A small smile appeared on Nic's face as the clouds in the green sky passed on by.
"I left soon afterwards to go on a journey, and my sister was given a real home to the neighbors. It broke my heart to say goodbye to my sister, but it was for the best. I needed to be a role model and be able to see the world, and taste true freedom."
Nic then had some strength before he looked towards his counterparts. "I got strong not just to protect my sister, but I got strong so I wouldn't have to rely on anyone else, so they wouldn't be hurt like I did. That's what it means to be strong."
Nebulus stared up at the sky in a daze. He's always been preached about this stuff, but he didn't think highly of it, but after what he and his counterpart had went through, it was fair to say Nebulus's closed doors have been opened.
A small tear went down his face as Nebulus felt too guilty. 'Is this the real me? How could I have been so blind? Why didn't I look in others' perspective?'
Nic panted as he was all too exhausted and hurt too much to speak. "You got it easy…because you didn't understand anybody else's feelings…if you did…you'd be a better person."
Nebulus's lips quivered and he gritted in pain and guilt and a few tears fell. "Why…am I …crying?"
Nic grinned. "That's the first step to being human Nic." At the same time, both Nic's blacked out, their injuries taking their immense toll, both now lying on the ground.
Knightwalker was left too baffled to even begin to speak as Nebulus told his mind-boggling tale. She felt almost everything; she could've imagined the horror if she was there in person. Perhaps she would've been mind-scarred even more.
Nebulus continued. "We awoke not long after and I helped Nic get to the portal before it closed. I stayed in the Geosenge Town Hospital for two weeks because it was that bad. My Pokémon had forgiven me and then things were peachy after I went home immediately afterwards to free my sister."
Knightwalker looked down at the ground as she was still sitting up. She never heard of something like that; something so forceful. "Nic, I need to know…" She looked up at Nebulus again. "I know you told me so as not to kill my counterpart, but why do I need saving? I never was in danger."
Nebulus got up and he looked down at Knightwalker and closed his eyes. "You were this whole time." He opened his eyes. "You were wandering in darkness, and someone had to pull you out and into the light." Knightwalker went wide-eyed.
Nebulus then walked on over pass Knightwalker and he undid the handcuffs. "I won't tell you what has to be done, but I will say that trust your gut. We're human, and our conscience matters. You know Faust is harming innocent lives within that lacrima." He turned away. "If you cry…that's the first step to being human." He then turned and saw Knightwalker with misty eyes. "Oh, and by the way Knightwalker…your red hair is nice."
Knightwalker felt a faint shade of pink engulf her cheeks as she looked away. She was free to choose her side. If she were still loyal, she'd be stabbing him through his neck, but after hearing his experience and trying to reach out to her, Knightwalker was feeling unbalanced.
She honestly didn't know what to think anymore. She wanted Magic, and yet Nebulus doesn't have it and he's satisfied. She was the Fairy Hunter for slaughtering half of the lives, but then what did they ever do to her? So many questions popped into her head and Nebulus saw the confusion, and light pink, on her face.
He crouched down and gave her a smile. "Like I said, trust what you feel in here." He pointed at her heart and she looked down at it. She held a brief pause.
Just then, the ceiling burst and debris fell from above and crashed behind Knightwalker, shaking the passageway and Nebulus looked calmly as Nebulus looked with satisfaction. His Charizard burst through the ceiling, flapping his wings and roared, of which echoed about.
Almost instinctively, she grabbed her damaged spear, but Nebulus reassured her. "At ease Knightwalker, he's just one of my Pokémon, Charizard." As Charizard landed on the debris, Nic walked up to his Fire and Flying-Type buddy and grinned. "So Charizard, how did it go?"
Charizard frowned. "Apparently the lacrima isn't destroyed yet. Gajeel is taking care of an Exceed named Panther Lily as we speak."
Knightwalker looked shocked. "Wait, Panther Lily?!"
Nebulus turned towards her. "I take it you know him?"
"Yes, he's the First Captain." She answered. "If he's still in combat with this Gajeel fellow, then he must be more skilled than I thought." She pondered.
"Perhaps." He turned towards Charizard. "We're catching up with the others." Charizard nodded and Nebulus hopped onto his back and Charizard flapped and started down the dark hallway.
Nebulus looke back as Knightwalker was leaving his sight. "Remember, from your heart." Then he was out of sight.
Knightwalker was puzzled as she narrowed her eyes. She looked to the ground and when she muttered incoherent sentences, she gave a slow nod. "I have to know something."
With Nic and Erza
As Nic was making way with Erza, he looked back at Erza and grinned. Before he could say an apology for leaving her for two weeks, he realized that they were looking ahead and seeing Natsu, Gray, Sophie, and a knocked out Sugarboy.
"Remember the plan?" Erza asked Nic before stepping out of the shadows.
"Yeah. As we discussed." Nic said, and they stepped out of the shadows.
"I've found you, and it seems that you have the key." 'Knightwalker' said.
Gray was holding a makeshift key for the Dragon Chain Cannon. He, Natsu, and Sophie both looked in shock as to seeing 'Knightwalker' with Nic.
"Whoa, it's Erza!" Natsu shouted.
"Wait a minute…is that…?" Sophie muttered.
"Hold on…she's from Edolas." Gray said. "…No."
Natsu was shaking in the eyes. "It can't be…our Erza lost? And why is Nic…?" Nic then lunged forwards and he smashed the key Gray had in his hand, shattering and he put the two in a double headlock, leaving Sophie to remain stiff as she recognized Nic.
"Uh, what's going on?" Sophie nervously asked.
"Good work." 'Knightwalker' said.
Just then, they heard a roar from down the hall and everyone turned back and saw Nebulus. He got off Charizard and returned him, then looked back at the others.
"Looks like I'll be partaking this rouse as well." Nebulus said.
Natsu and Gray both paled. "TWO NICS?!" They screeched, almost immediately choking after Nic tightened his headlock.
"Keep your voices down." Nic warned.
"We're all doomed! It's the end of humanity with those two demons!" Natsu squealed.
"Stop Natsu, he's here to help." Sophie said.
Erza sighed and looked back at Nebulus. "So, what of Knightwalker?" Nebulus then gave a brief recap of what he told her, to which everyone sans Nic went wide-eyed.
After the summary and a hint of the backstory, Erza gave a very nervous look towards Nic. "I see." She then walked towards Natsu, Gray, and Sophie. "Listen up you three, Nic and I came up with a plan…"
Sorry to cut it off here folks, but if I continue any longer then it'll probably be at least 16K again. I hope you won't mind this Arc going another chapter after the next one. Don't worry, I'll do another chapter pronto. This means instead of 4 chapters, this Arc will be 5 chapters, which I personally dislike extending, but it has to be done.
I would imagine you guys are scarred with the whole Nic brawl in the flashback, apparently the whole solemn fight there in that scene was the reason why this has to be extended. Review if you were mind blown and had a little hint of feels from Nic's explanation.
Now you know two things that kept Nic sane: His sister and his device, and you will see a bit more of his past as we continue on after the Edolas Arc.
I just can never get to where I want in my chapters huh. *sighs* Oh well, I can make do with what I have, though I'll have to sort things out for next chapter.
Also guys, check out a story called Pokemon Indigo League: Ed Version that garyisstupid made. He makes pretty good Pokémon stuff.
Please Favorite, Follow, & Review this story and/or chapter if you guys love the confliction and the development the characters are creating and are waiting for another chapter.
Next Time: Erza's Answer