Chapter 58 – Holy and Unholy
I'm back and I have done recalculating! According to the ideas I had laid out, and the pre-ideal plans I wrote, the actual length of this story came out to be 85 chapters. Bet you weren't expecting that, huh?
On with the Key to the Starry Sky Arc!
To Recap:
Kaulas and Nic's group engage in a heated battle, where Kaulas's Bone Magic had more than a few surprises, including an unstable altered form. Soon enough, the Zeus Cannon was fully charged and ready to wipe out half of Fiore, but Sophie and Cana learned that the weapon and Kaulas were weak to cold temperatures. Using the Icicle Plate, Nic was able to defeat Kaulas and save Dahlias. The following evening, Fairy Tail is attacked by the Legion Corps.
Chapter 58 – Holy and Unholy
Byro Cracy, the Earthland counterpart of Byro from Edolas, stood atop of a giant octopus as he glared down at Sugarboy. "Have they found Lucy Heartfilia?"
"I'm sure the little sugar in our coffee will be ours momentarily. Don't you worry, Lord Byro." Sugarboy hummed.
"Byro?!" Natsu exclaimed, recalling the same man from Edolas. "You mean that old crazy guy back in Edolas?! How'd the heck his Earthland version's an octopus here?!"
"Don't be low a melody, Spice boy! Lord Byro is on top of Kanaloa!" Sugarboy pointed atop of Kanaloa, revealing the Earthland Byro, whom was tall, very muscular, and had plated armor over a purple shirt. He also had a large, thick staff.
Natsu and Happy were the perfect definition of dumbfounded. "WHAT?! He's nothing like Byro!" They exclaimed in unison revelation.
Byro ignored their comments as he has business to attend to. He looked at Sugarboy.
"We're here for the Heartfilia girl, not to play with this boy and his flying cat. Dispose of them and return to your mission at once." He ordered sternly.
Sugarboy bowed. "On it, boss man." He turned back towards Natsu and Happy. "Don't mean anything personal, but we gotta, get on with the show." He snapped his fingers and the mic in his hand emitted soundwaves that made the surrounding slime react and elongate upwards.
Natsu immediately readied a counter. "Want spicy? Try blazing! Fire Dragon's Roar!" He fired a torrent of fire at the slime.
Byro sat on Kanaloa's head and reached out. His expression remained unchanged as a purple Magic seal emerged and then Natsu's flames immediately went out.
"Natsu's flames! They…they went out!" Happy exclaimed in sheer surprise and disbelief.
Sugarboy perched his lips and wagged his finger at Natsu. "Sorry, Spice Boy, but your fire ain't got nothing on Lord Byro."
Though the attack diffusing left him surprised, that didn't deter Natsu from letting loose more of his destructive force. He jumped into the air with flames streaming from both hands.
"Like heck that'll stop me! Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!" He lashed the fire streams out at Sugarboy, but the green slime all around swallowed up the waves of fire and diffused inside.
"What?!" Natsu exclaimed. He was left baffled and open for Sugarboy to morph the slime into a giant arm and fist.
"Yuuh-huh! Get on, little doggies! Slime Arm!" The entire slimy fist towered high and swatted Natsu, sending him into a flat hillside, the force leaving him in a crater.
Happy stood in revelation, unable to move due to disbelief. He slowly looked from Natsu to Sugarboy. "S-Sugarboy's Magic feeds off of Natsu's powers."
"Yuuh-huh! Your fire's but a spicy meal for my Dog Whistle Magic." Sugarboy turned back towards Byro. "Lord Byro, I got this covered."
Byro nodded. "Let's go, Kanaloa."
The giant octopus turned around and began his new course away from the confrontation.
"Hey, where ya going?! I'm not done yet, Octo-Geezer!" Natsu exasperated as he dislodged himself.
Sugarboy turned towards Natsu. "Lord Byro hasn't the time to deal with you now."
Byro and Kanaloa were seen making way through the woods, and the two were left silent as they pressed on, with the octopus springing from point A to point B.
After several minutes, Byro felt something. "What is it Kanaloa?" He only needed a little time to understand. "I see, you sensed it too."
The giant octopus landed in a clearing, where they saw a man on the edge of the tree line.
Byro stood up on Kanaloa's head. "So, you're the one I sensed. This overwhelming Magic Power is quite evident." He was talking to none other than Gildarts Clive.
Gildarts had crossed arms and grinned. "Yeah? Ya don't say."
"I know who you are. You're one of Fairy Tail's top elite S-Class Mages. Gildarts Clive." Byro answered.
Gildarts frowned. "So you know me, do ya? Seems my reputation precedes me. Though top elite is right." He didn't press the matter further because considering him the strongest in Fairy Tail may be a little far from the truth, for obvious reasons.
"You got some kind of death wish, messing with my guild?" The Crash Mage changed the subject.
Byro leered Gildarts with an intensity that rivaled an animal. "I don't have business related to your little guild. I came to take what is rightfully ours."
"Ya don't say?" Gildart's voice was more defensive than nonchalant.
The bushes behind Gildarts rustled and out sprung some swift figure. It seemed super energetic and enthusiastic.
"COOL!" It was non-other than Sorcerer Weekly's reporter, Jason. And apparently he's been tailing Gildarts.
Gildarts sighed. "Will ya quite following me?"
"This has gotta be the most coolest story ever!" Jason shouted, sounded like he had an intense 24-7 sugar rush. He snapped photos from his distance. "This is my big chance! The cover story for Sorcerer Weekly!"
Gildarts ignored Jason and returned to the center of attention. "I don't know who to take down first; you, or the octopus."
Byro kept a stone cold expression. "Gildarts, if you continue to threaten me, you shall face a great judgement."
The Crash Mage's eyes narrowed and he remained paused for only a few more seconds. After those few seconds, he suddenly and swiftly jumped up and stretched out his hand, deploying his Crash Magic in the form of a net. Byro extended his arm out and swiped it, dispelling the net. A few seconds later, the tree behind Byro was reduced to rectangular blocks.
Gildarts landed atop of Kanaloa's surprisingly flat head and looked at Byro with hidden question in his gaze. "You said that I'd face a grand judgement, but it looked like you ran away."
"No, I did no such thing." Byro testified. "I simply nullified your Magic, or to be more accurate, I dispersed and redirected it around me."
Gildarts kept a hostile expression. "Is that so?"
Jason wrote some stuff in his little notepad and sprung in ever so glee. "COOL! Gildarts attack was redirected and made the tree into hundreds of tiny blocks!"
"What exactly do you have to gain?" Gildarts questioned, wanting answers,
Byro held up a hand, slowly clenching it. "My unit's goals are not to be shared. If you insist on attacking me, it'll give me a reason to destroy you."
Coco ran about on the sides of the cliffs with such athletic capabilities. Wendy, Carla, and Lily all looked hesitant as they saw how fast she moved.
"She's so agile, almost like Nic." Wendy stated.
"What do we do?" Carla asked.
Lily looked down and clenched his fists. Looking at Earthland Coco reminded him of Edolas Coco, making him all the more hesitant. He clenched his fists tighter and he glowed, shifting into his Battle Form, which caught Wendy and Carla by surprise.
"We have to defeat her." He stated sternly. "Even though she's the spitting image of Coco…she's not the same girl we knew in Edolas."
"Lily." Carla muttered.
"Then you won't do it alone." The foreign voice caught the Exceeds and the girls' attention. Turning to the side, they all caught the sight of some fortunate allies in the form of Cana and Sophie.
"Looks like you could use a hand." The brunette said, flashing her cards.
"We'll be sure to back you up." Sophie stated.
Wendy looked shocked. "You're here?!"
"You're saying you just got back from your job?" Carla asked.
Cana and Sophie started walking a few paces towards the Exceeds and the Dragon Slayer. Sophie gave a serious vibe. "Yeah. When the others at the Guild Hall informed us of what was going on, we came rushing over as fast as we could."
"Nic should be locating Lucy and Michelle as we speak." Cana said. "He'll pull through. For now…" Her cards glowed. "Let's show this little girl who she's messing with!"
"Lucy, please! Save yourself!" Michelle was unable to control herself as Mary Hughes was using her Magic to force Michelle off the cliff, of course Lucy tried to keep her from doing so, but was beginning to look as though it were for naught.
"No! I won't let that happen!" Lucy shouted. She lost a little footing. "I'll stick with you-!"
Both girls finally lost ground and their mouths gaped open. They screamed as they fell from the huge cliff and began to plummet below. Lucy clutched onto the clothed object in her hand as she descended rapidly.
"AAHH! Please work! Please work!" She shouted as she held a Zodiac Key to the ground. "Open: Gate of the Ram – Aries!"
Nothing happened as not even a Magic seal emerged.
"WHAT?! STILL?! OH COME ON!" Lucy screamed as her attempt failed. She and Michelle both screamed as they were gonna reach their demise through means of crashing into the ground.
A glint in the sky emerged and a blurry figure rushed in at a sharp angle. It was moving so fast that it was almost unreal. The blur snagged Lucy and Michelle and with its mighty wings was able to carry them.
Lucy and Michelle opened their eye to find that they weren't pancakes. They both looked up to find that their savior was carrying them by his strong arms.
Lucy smiled. "Nic! Boy are we glad to see you!"
Michelle looked shocked. "This is Nic?"
Nic looked down at them as he descended lightly. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, thanks a lot!" Lucy kept her satisfied grin. "You're a lifesaver." She and Michelle both were gently put on the ground and looked up at Nic, who turned his attention up to where Mary was.
Mary put a hand to her hip. "Seriously, like, do you not know when to give up?"
"Careful! She can control people!" Lucy warned Nic. "That's how she controlled Michelle and everyone else!"
Nic's eyes narrowed as his sunglasses were on his V-Neck. "So she can use that wand as a means of manipulation." He glowed, shifting into his Mind Plate. His feet were planted on the ground as he clenched both fists. "Then let's go!"
Mary smirked viciously and jumped off the side of the cliff. She descended rapidly with her smile still wicked. She aimed the stick at Nic as she descended. "You think you can stop me?! Try doing so when you can't move!"
The tip glowed and Nic felt himself unable to move. He was caught surprised, but completely omitted it and remained calm. As Mary descended further, Nic seemed ready.
"I don't need to move to beat you." He stated. His eyes glowed and Mary found herself outlined in the same color as Nic's glowing eyes, startling her as she suddenly found herself unable to move, levitating in the air.
Her eyes widened. "What?! What's happening?!" Her shock caused her to stop her Command Magic, and Nic was free to move, though he didn't make any movements other than extending his left arm out.
"Manipulation of others is below human. See how you like it. Confusion!" He exclaimed. He forced Mary into the side of the cliff, making her end up in a crater. She fell down to the ground with a great thud.
Lucy's eyes widened. "Whoa. She just got a taste of her own medicine." She muttered in disbelief.
Mary stumbled up from the ground and groaned. She ascertained more than a few bruises from that painful attack, but she didn't deter as she had a job to accomplish.
"You. How dare you manipulate me! ME!" She exasperated harshly. She pointed her stick at them. "Let's see how you like these apples!" Her smirk returned as the end glowed.
Lucy suddenly became stiff and Michelle and Nic turned to find her shuddering. The blonde was unable to act as she stiffly turned towards Nic.
"Come on blondie, give him some attention!" Mary moved her stick and Lucy followed, feeling herself get dragged and squealed as she went in after Nic.
"WAAAHHHHHHH!" Lucy squealed as she found herself unable to free herself as her body went towards Nic. Fortunately for her, Nic was able to nimbly dodge and pivoted to see Lucy being thrown back at him.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" She shouted the same thing as she past Nic, unable to hit him. Continuously missing and ending up being manipulated to jerk backwards repeatedly due to Mary.
Mary grunted. "Gah! Will you hold still?!"
Lucy was then controlled to swinging her arms, using the clock piece as a bat, and resorted to kicking, all of which Nic was able to successfully dodge, without so much as getting even a small scratch.
Finally fed up, Mary pointed her stick at Lucy. "This is getting me nowhere. I'll just take the clock part and go!"
Lucy found herself being dragged by her heels towards Mary, stopping her unintentional assault on Nic. She walked robotically towards her while holding out the clock piece.
Michelle got worried. "No! Lucy, they can't have it!"
Nic extended his arm out. "Hang on!" His eyes glowed again. "Psychic!" Using his powers, he outlined Lucy in the same color as his eyes. The Heartfilia girl stopped in place, her whole body shuddering as she was caught in the middle of a deep struggle.
Mary grunted as she couldn't seem to pull Lucy closer. "Come on!"
Nic grunted as he pulled Lucy back and the blonde was seen a few inches closer to Nic. Mary doubled her efforts and Lucy found herself in the same spot, with both sides pulling with all the force they could muster.
Through it all, Lucy was feeling unequal levels of pain as it felt as though her body was being split into two. "G-Guys! Stop! It hurts!"
Nic grunted. 'Hang on, Lucy. I'm thinking.' He contemplated heavily as he couldn't let up or Mary would have possession of Lucy and the clock piece. All he could do was keep a stalemate.
"Just give up!" Mary exclaimed. "Either we keep this going and she gets torn in half, or you could let her be and I can have the clock hand. Which is it?"
"Gh-Gnnnnnngh! GYAAAHHH!" Lucy yelped at the pain her body was going through; her whole body, especially the arms and legs, was feeling extreme strain. "N-Nic! She can't have it! No matter what!"
Nic didn't know the details about the object in Lucy's hold, but if it were that important to her, then Mary couldn't have it, no matter what. "Then I'm left with no other choice." Using his right hand, surprising Mary, Lucy, and Michelle alike, he put his thumb and index finger to his lips and let out a very loud whistle.
At that instant, a glint was seen in the sky, zooming downwards at such a speed that far outsped Nic from before. It sounded like a jet, and Mary and everyone looked up to see a speeding projectile.
The menacing creature roared downwards as his fins glowed green and brought them overhead. "Taste dirt, witch! GRAH!"
The creature was none other than Nic's Garchomp. His deep-toned and aggressive voice rattled everyone's spines and his vile roar made Mary quiver, and then Dual Chop was brought down onto her. A green explosion rattled the landscape and Nic was the only one able to maintain footing as he covered up from Garchomp's cloud-bursting assault. Lucy and Michelle sailed back from the sheer force, screaming and landing on their bottoms with a thud as violent winds of earth and dust blew like a raging tempest for several seconds.
The dust began to settle, and Nic was seen unfazed while Lucy and Michelle quivered weakly as Garchomp arose from a knee from a large crater with an unconscious Mary in its center.
"Nice timing as ever, good work." Nic praised. Garchomp turned towards him and emitted a low growl of satisfaction. Nic then turned around and reached for Lucy and Michelle, helping them up. Once they got to their feet, Nic looked into their eyes. "Are you both alright?"
Lucy nodded. "Yeah, that was a close call. We were lucky you and Garchomp showed up when you did."
Michelle caught whim of something. "How did you find us to begin with?"
"Cana, Sophie, and I just got back from our job. The guild told us everything from the beginning and we came speeding as fast as we could." He looked out above the cliff. "I sent out Kecleon earlier to find anyone she comes across and dispatch the enemy." He looked back at Lucy and Michelle. "You both need to head back to the Guild Hall as fast as possible. Garchomp and I will take care of any other enemies."
Lucy and Michelle didn't have time to question Nic as he jumped onto Garchomp's back, and the dragon ascended at Mach speed. "Be careful!" Was all they could hear before he and Garchomp went zooming upwards and out of sight.
Lucy stood in place, looking down at the clock hand her father gave her. She paused longingly and clenched it tighter. She then gave a focused look as she stared ahead.
She turned towards Michelle. "Come on Michelle!"
"Uh, right!" Michelle then followed Lucy was the two traveled back towards the Guild Hall, leaving Mary deprived of pupils as she laid in the crater.
Gildarts fist collided with Byro's staff, and the Crash Magic embedded dispersed again like the past several times, this one breaking the area surrounding Kanaloa. Both mages skidded back a few feet and eyed the other wearily.
"Heh, you're stronger than I'd expected." Gildarts remarked.
"Likewise." Byro responded.
Gildarts extended his arm out, sending his Crash Magic at Byro. Byro easily swiped his arm, neutralizing it and redirected it to destroy another tree from behind.
"He neutralized your attack again!" Jason shouted. "This is totally awesome! SO COOL!"
"You know, you're getting on my last nerves buddy." Gildarts remarked. He tilted his head. "I still didn't get an answer. What are you destroying my guild?"
Byro wasn't moved in the slightest. "Destroying your guild? No, that's not the objective." He confirmed. "We have no interest in your petty little guild."
Gildarts extended his arm out and deployed even more of his Crash Magic, which was nullified and redirected into a giant tree's trunk, causing the humungous structure to topple over.
"COOL! YOUR REPORTER HAS GOT SWEET INFO!" Jason shouted.
"Eh?" Gildarts questioned.
Byro's eyes narrowed.
"His name is Byro Cracy, the leader of the Legion Corps!" Jason exclaimed with enthusiasm.
"The Legion Corps?"
"Zentopia has followers all over the world, not just in Fiore! Little is known of the Legion Corps, except that they're an extensive combat unit related to the church's dark past!" Jason explained. "What I've heard is that their members underwent some crazy training!"
Hearing enough, Gildarts turned around towards Byro. "So, what does this Legion Corps want?"
Byro kept a straight face. "That's strictly none of your business."
Gildarts retaliation came in the form of rushing at Byro. His strong and moderately fast punches were dodged. "When somebody attacks my guild, it's automatically my business!" He punched again, but was blocked by Byro's staff. Gildarts then jumped and sprung his arm forward, deploying Crash Magic, but Byro swiped again, nullifying it. Gildarts punched while Byro dodged right, turning around to see Gildarts on the opposite side.
"However." The Crash Mage stated. "I'm not too concerned since Fairy Tail doesn't go down without a fight." He blocked Byro's staff with his metallic left arm, standing his ground. "But I'm not taking chances…because one of their members happens to be my daughter!"
Byro didn't let up as they were in a stalemate. "Don't be alarmed. We're not interested in your daughter. We came for Lucy Heartfilia."
Gildarts's eye narrowed. Byro instantly read them and his eyes also narrowed. Both mages jerked backwards for some distance.
"Suddenly there's a serious look in your eyes. For us, this is serious as well. This task was handed to us by Zentopia's Archbishop, therefore we cannot be allowed to fail. What is happening now, is Holy War. And this war will forever change everything." He grinned at long last. "This is inevitable."
He held up his staff, which shined a bright purple light. A great surge of power flowed that Gildarts felt and he covered up and turned around towards Jason.
"Run kid!" He shouted.
"H-Huh?!" Jason was left confused.
"I suggest that if you value your life you run! GO, NOW!" Gildarts's shout was clear and demanding, and in a flash Jason vacated the premises like a Pokémon with Run Away. When he scurried off out of sight, Gildarts turned to glare back at Byro as the light from his staff faded.
The two remained still for only a few moments of sheer pressure before their fists went at the other, making a loud crash sound echo from miles away.
Coco ran down the side of a cliff. "Would you spill it?! My patience is out!"
Lily grunted as he tried to punch her, but fighting someone familiar to the past was easier said than done. He was completely off as he punched the cliff and Coco backflipped on to the ground.
"Just tell me where I can find her!" She shouted as she ran about with high speed.
Cana turned around and her cards flashed. "Try running past this! Thunderbolt's Fate!" She made a green Magic seal and the card let loose a lot of bolts of lightning.
Coco ran with great speed and used her extreme acrobatic Magic and frontflipped and outran the various bolts of lightning, with every single one missing.
"No way!" Cana exclaimed.
"Let me try!" Sophie pointed a finger at her own head. "Memory-Make: Charge Blades!" She then conjured up several cracks within the cliffs, where Coco was running about on the sides. She looked ahead and saw that a multitude of jagged stones with yellow on their tips jut out. She huffed and ran to the top of the cliff, where the blades followed. She dashed upwards and sprung into a backwards dive, twisting her body as she landed on the slope and sped back down, evading the whole field of Charge Blades that went back into the earth.
Sophie was more or less shocked to say the least. "She was nimble enough to dodge that?!" She then grunted as she felt exhaustion catch up to her.
Wendy and everyone looked at her. "Sophie, are you alright?" Wendy asked.
Sophie winced. "Y-yeah. I still haven't recovered much from yesterday."
Cana grunted, wincing a little as well. "Yeah, no kidding. That must have been my only spell."
Coco was seen dashing at them, her incoming speed surprising them. "Enough! Where is she-!"
She was stopped before she could attack. A swift blur completely kicked her in the face, making her squeal as she skidded backwards and winced in great pain. The sudden assault made everyone's eyes widen at the appearance of another character entering the fray.
Coco held her face as she looked ahead. "Who did that?!"
A tall figure arose with a pose, his silhouette fading and revealing his huge grin. "Why hello! Welcome!"
Cana and Sophie's eyes widened with sheer revelation. They wouldn't have believed it if they didn't see it for themselves.
"You've gotta be kidding me." Cana muttered in disbelief.
The figure turned around and posed elegantly with his peacock-like cape extended and unfolded, startling Wendy and the Exceeds. The person with his huge grin was none other than an ally from before - Pavo.
"It's good to see you alive and well! Old friends!" He happily cheered.
Sophie smiled. "Oh wow, it's really you! I remembered you from Dahlias yesterday! Thanks so much for that by the way!"
Cana still kept shock on her face. "You mean you still survived and weren't caught by the Rune Knights?"
Pavo posed elegantly once more and spun on the tip of his shoes. "Oh don't be silly! A peacock cannot fall from grace! I shall do whatever it takes to help out my friends!"
Wendy sweatdropped. "Uh…do you know him?"
Cana grinned as she turned towards Wendy. "Yeah, apparently he was once an enemy, now our friend. He helped us greatly." She turned towards him while grinning. "Glad he came out in one piece."
Carla raised a brow. "Well, he's very…unique."
Coco didn't care and she got back to her feet. "Hey! What's your deal buddy?!" Her shout caught Pavo's attention and he turned around to face her, an askew expression on his face.
Without hesitation, she ran into Pavo. "Do you mind?! Tell me where Lucy Heartfilia is!"
Pavo grunted and posed a leg out. "Back off!" He unleashed a lightning-speed flurry of kicks at Coco, making her scream as she was hit and landed with a thud on her back.
"Oh wow!" Wendy remarked.
"He's fast enough to do damage to the girl." Carla remarked.
Pavo took a pose. "You stay away from my friends!" He shouted, making Cana and Sophie remain silent. "Any friend of Nic Pularis is a friend of mine! And as such, I'll spill nothing to keep this Lucy Heartfilia from the likes of you! If you want her so bad, get her yourself!"
Cana smirked and held up a fist. "Now that's what I'm talking about!"
Coco rushed after him with even more impatience. "Tell me!" She went for a twisting, midair kick, but Pavo's dance moves made him backflip with his wrist blocking the attack. He then spiraled and used his palm to strike Coco, sending her skidding back several feet.
The two were engaged in a swift battle of parrying blows, much to Coco's sheer shock and disbelief. Her acrobatic kicks were stopped every single time by Pavo when he raised a knee, pivoted, and kicked.
"Just hold still!" Coco frontflipped and kicked, but Pavo jumped and twirled with an elegant pose.
"Descending Peck Memoir!" Pavo came crashing down with the tips of his toes out. His feet hit Coco's abdomen and she screamed and spiraled a cartwheel until she hit the cliff slope, where she was lying on her back with spirals in her eyes.
Wendy clasped her hands in joy. "You got her!"
Pavo posed as he spun around towards his comrades. "And that's all she wrote!"
Cana smiled. "Nice work there. She was quite the hassle."
Lily just stared out at the dizzy Coco, fixated on how helpless he was. He completely lacked the resolve to fight against her, and seeing Pavo lay waste to her made his core shiver. But he had to remind himself she was not the same and was the enemy. He turned back to his little form and continued staring.
Carla turned towards him. "Lily."
"…it's fine. Let's go." It was clear in his voice that he was reluctant, but pressed on. Everyone else nodded and they made way off towards the Guild Hall to regroup.
Natsu's fight was…eventful. He fought slime, got pounded by slime, dove into slime, and for some reason of which no one shall ever understand, Natsu and Sugarboy were having a stare down with a hand from each person stuck in a hot slimy ball.
Natsu used his free hand to try to hit Sugarboy, but every shot missed when he leaned in various directions. "Gah! Hold still!" He punched again, but Sugarboy dodged. Sugarboy finally yanked, prompting Natsu to momentarily stop.
"Now that's enough. This was fun but you need to get your hand out." He warned. "I don't wanna sound mean but this is weird. I don't wanna be holding hands all night."
"I ain't holding your hand cuz I wanna, jerk!" Natsu barked.
"If you're gonna be a hot-headed woman, then I'll have to beat the ever-loving snot out of ya."
"Wait, what-?!"
Natsu was met by a fist by Sugarboy, followed by a vast flurry of jabs all over his face. "Yuuh-huh. You like that? Yeah." Sugarboy's endless punching barrage didn't let up and Natsu's face was bombarded with bruises and swelled up cheeks. Finally, the punching stopped and Natsu slumped back.
Sugarboy hummed. "Yuuh-huh. Y'all dawdle on outta here."
His shadow blackened and he was unable to read it before the shadow stretched out from beneath, striking him in the abdomen. Sugarboy gawked as the air was knocked out of him in that solemn blow. He let out some more air and dropped to his knees.
Natsu blinked at the sudden confusion, and then cringed when a sudden blast of ice struck the Hot Slime, causing it to instantly freeze and shatter, freeing Natsu as he fell backwards.
Looking to his left, he saw two figures he never thought he'd see. "What the…that chameleon thing, and Gray?" Upon seeing Gray, Natsu fumed. "Hey! You almost froze my hand off!"
Gray's hand mist with remnants of his Ice-Make. "I just saved you, didn't I? You should be thanking me."
Kecleon tilted her head. "We all look so thrilled." She stated in her creepy monotone voice.
Sugarboy clenched his abdomen while standing on a knee. The sight of him brought Gray back the memories of Edolas, as to how he fended against Edolas Sugarboy. Despite the shock on Gray's face, Sugarboy leered at Kecleon and Gray alike.
"I'll call you Ice Boy, and you'll be called Reptilian Girl!" He stated while still on a knee.
"I don't care about the stupid nicknames! Why the heck are you here?!" Gray exclaimed.
"It's not what you think Gray!" Happy interjected. "This is Earth Land Sugarboy!"
"What?"
Sugarboy regained enough breath to stand up and had his mic in hand. "You'll learn to not mess with me on my bad side, now. Get on!" His mic emitted soundwaves and green slime began to emerge from his body yet again.
Natsu started to like shocked. "Uh oh, not that stuff again!"
The green slime began to wiggle its way towards Gray and Natsu, and Kecleon stepped forward in front of Gray. She straightened up her head and opened her mouth. "Screech!" She let loose red shockwaves from her mouth that pierced the air. The shockwaves reached the green slime and Sugarboy and the slime began to bubble madly and go out of control, ending up engulfing Sugarboy instead.
"Wh-what is this mad melody?!" He shouted as his Magic was reacting funny to Kecleon's Screech. The mucus-like Magic began to drown Sugarboy as he was incapable of defending.
"Thief!"
In a fast blur, Kecleon ended up behind Sugarboy, looking forward as the latter gawked at the sudden pain as there was an opening in the slime and he slumped downwards onto his back, passing out with the slime slumping all around him.
Gray looked surprised. "Guess I should've known Kecleon would've done something like that."
"Hey! How come no one told me that sound effects that slime?! Huh?!" Natsu exclaimed.
Gray crossed his arms. "Probably because Kecleon used her brain. She remembered that he used that mic, meaning sound effects that slime." He turned towards her. "Right?"
Kecleon looked at the microphone staff in her claws that she obtained through her Thief. She looked back at Gray. "He sung terribly, so I made a better tune." She tilted her head. "I like this mic." She put it close to her. "I'll be here all week!"
Gildarts's kick was blocked by Byro's staff. He jerked away and jumped up, ending up falling onto Byro with his Crash Magic, but failed when Byro's staff glowed. With the distance, Byro kicked, but Gildarts jumped backwards and evaded the sweep.
The two were in an intense stare down on a knee atop of Kanaloa's head, both having a serious and aggressive look in their eyes.
A sudden spear shot down from above, driving itself in between Gildarts and Byro. Kanaloa felt the spear poking him on his head and he wailed in pain, shaking back and forth in agony.
Gildarts jumped off of him and landed on the ground on a knee. Right beside him, a certain redhead emerged in her Giant's Armor.
"Erza." He said surprised.
Kanaloa fumed and cooled down as Byro pried the spear from his head, calming down the octopus.
"It's very rare to see you in a struggle, Gildarts." Erza said, not taking her eyes off of the two opponents before her.
Gildarts smirked. "Yeah, well, it's not every day you face off against a giant octopus."
"If this man and his pet were involved in the attack on our guild, then retribution must be afoot."
"You said it." Gildarts and Erza both glared at Byro and Kanaloa alike.
Byro stood tall over Kanaloa as he glared down at Erza and Gildarts, not even a grumble escaped, indicating he was ready to fight.
Everyone at that instant heard what appeared to be a fighter jet from above. Everyone looked up with curiosity, only to find the jet-like projectile looking like a dragon-shaped energy and rushing straight down at Kanaloa and Byro.
"Dragon Rush!" Garchomp's dark voice echoed all around and the entire dragon-like figure came crashing down onto Kanaloa, creating a draconic energy explosion, one that caused Gildarts and Erza to maintain their ground, albeit barely.
Through the explosion, Kanaloa and Byro were seen falling backwards onto the ground with an earth-shaking thud. The giant octopus groaned as he was covered in bruises, and Byro had taken quite a toll from that attack.
Byro stood up and looked out at what struck him earlier. His eyes widened a little as Nic and Garchomp landed at least thirty feet away.
"Nic!" Erza said surprised.
"Nice timing." Gildarts remarked. "That octopus was pretty annoying."
Nic didn't turn around as he took a defensive yet relaxed stance. "Stay sharp. This guy is clearly a much larger threat than the remaining members so far."
Garchomp's head lowered and snarled.
"Such pitiful fools. You keep interfering." Byro remarked in disgust. "I'll just have to eliminate you as well. Attack me and I'll show you my wrath."
As Garchomp growled, Nic's arm reached out, making a whiff sound. "Keep your defenses up! Garchomp, Slash!"
Garchomp roared again and his claws glowed and elongated. His eyes sharpened. "Octopus or man, I will destroy all those who stand in my way! Grraaahhh!" He viciously lunged ahead at Byro, who didn't bother to move.
Byro extended his staff out and it glowed as Garchomp advanced, but the most startling thing was that he took the Slash and gawked at the overwhelming force, sending him crashing into a straight row of trees, each on reducing to splinters.
Garchomp positioned himself on the ground. "Maybe you should be more careful and not rely on some petty stick!"
Gildarts's eyes widened with sheer shock. He was baffled by the revelation that behold him. "No way."
Through the dark shadows, Byro's weakened form emerged. He clenched his abdomen where Garchomp struck and grunted. His face was completely twisted from sheer disbelief and shock.
"How can this be? My Nullification Magic neutralizes all forms of Magic! You should've been hitting dirt, yet you didn't." His voice was all shaken and distraught.
"I just follow my own rues of dishing out pain." Garchomp told aggressively.
Nic swiped his arm. "Now use Dig!"
Garchomp arched his unique body and drove himself into the earth, making it shake. When the dirt and dust settled, it showed a sizeable hole. Byro looked down at the ground, searching for where he might pop up, but he didn't sense any form of Magic.
The ground cracked without so much as a vibration. Byro's eyes widened and he was blasted with dirt, but the most painful experience was the near 300-pound Dragon that drove a knee into his abdomen.
In slow motion, he was wide-eyed and slowly reeling back in midair. 'Archbishop, I beg your forgiveness. I swear, we won't come back until we have that clock piece.'
"Have this!" In midair still, Garchomp swatted his tail with vicious ferocity, slamming it into Byro's face, causing a shockwave that sent winds everywhere, making leaves on trees rattle violently. Garchomp followed through and Byro slammed into the ground in front of the octopus, which finally got back up.
Gildarts and Erza both were left speechless by how easily Byro went down at the claws of Garchomp. They saw Byro in a crater, but he was wincing rather than unconscious. They were more than surprised to say the least. They knew Garchomp was Nic's strongest Pokémon, but they didn't expect him to be even more lethal than what they've already seen. They heard how he completely demolished Laxus, how he Mega Evolved and trashed a robotic dragon, and of course partook in that…incident back in Kalos.
Garchomp landed on the ground and growled. "Is that the best that you can do?"
Byro's eyes opened as he was unable to move. "Mark my words, this is far from over." Kanaloa picked him up and put him on his giant head. As Byro laid on the head, he stared up at the star-less sky. "You may have the clock hand now, but this Holy War will not rest until we've won."
"Holy War?" Nic asked.
"You've made a grave mistake defying the Archbishop of Zentopia. Know this; I was caught off guard, but I won't rest until the clock hand is ours."
With that sentence, Kanaloa sprung up into the air, away from them all. He sprung repeatedly s though he were flying, becoming a distant figure.
Garchomp turned back towards Nic, who had a puzzled look on his face. Erza and Gildarts got over their shock and looked at Nic, who finally spoke.
"Holy War…something's going on here." His eyes narrowed. "And it looks like we're caught in the crossfire."
Night was still thick in the sky. Everyone regrouped and were present at the Guild Hall, Kecleon and Garchomp were returned to their Poke Balls, and of course Nic was glad to meet up with Pavo again. Those matters aside, everyone lounged while being on edge.
"So the Legion Corps were after Lucy's key, eh?" Wakaba confirmed.
Gildarts nodded. "Yeah, without a doubt."
Nic sat not too far away at the same table with his sister. An annoyed expression plastered on his face. "This is very much out of hand. There's so little information that we can't grasped their motives." He said calmly. "However, the man Gildarts fought foretold of a Holy War."
Pavo stood not too far away, staying focused on the task at hand. "And what exactly does this Holy War stand for?"
Vanessa looked up at him. "We don't know. We're in the same boat as you."
"But why target Lucy's key? Does it play a vital role in his Holy War? Or is this a coincidence?" Sophie wondered.
Lucy clenched the huge key in her hand, keeping a firm grip on it so as not to lose it. She remained as quiet as possible. She was ever so glad Nic showed up when he did, otherwise her father's memento would've been taken.
Makarov sat on the bar stool and grumbled. "A series of church attacks before the Zentopia founding festival, a mysterious clock hand with a peculiar phrase, which is sought by the Legion Corps, and now Holy War."
Natsu crossed his arms as he stood in front of Lucy's table. "Well all I can say is that those guys made a big mistake when they chose to mess with Fairy Tail."
Gray lounged – without a shirt. "Has anybody tracked them?"
Erza had hands to her hips. "According to Warren, the search parties lost sight." She looked at Natsu. "But I agree with Natsu, this is only getting started."
Nic closed his eyes. "Let's try and piece together what we can. From what we know, Lucy has in possession a clock hand that originated from her father. Said clock hand is targeted by the Legion Corps for reasons revolving around a Holy War. What exactly does this war mean? How is the clock hand involved?"
Pavo hummed as he was left stumped with crossed arms. "Perhaps this Legion Corps is in need of this clock hand to bring this war into their favor." He said in his usual flamboyant tone.
"So do you think the chaos this clock hand describes and this war are the same?" Cana asked in a serious tone.
"Yeah…uh…" Before Natsu could answer further, his brain was starting to lose focus and he ended up looking stumped, much to Cana's disbelief.
"Uh, I think you need to lie down. It's too much for you to take in." Happy advised.
Natsu turned away with a pout. "Shut up, Happy."
"Chaos also mean no more rules." Gray simplified.
Natsu immediately clicked and pointed at Gray. "Now we're talking!"
Makarov looked at his mug some more as he listened. "Rules were created to restrict harm and ensure safety. Without such, there'd be violence and mistrust, and no one would ever be guaranteed safety by any means."
"So you think that if they win the war the rules will change in their favor?" Macao wondered.
"Well I for one don't want those dirt bags making the rules." Wakaba testified.
"Well one thing's for sure is that they have messed up ideals, and trying to steal from Lucy isn't exactly holy by any means." Gildarts said.
Michelle looked down at the ground. "I just thought of something. If they wanted the clock hand, then maybe they're looking for other parts as well."
"If we learn their goal, then hopefully we'll learn what Lucy's clock hand's significance is." Vanessa figured.
Cana pulled out some cards. "I'll see what my fortune telling says."
Gildarts pulled off an affectionate fatherly smile. "That's right, just leave it to my big baby girl!"
"You're embarrassing me!" Cana interjected. Though she put the matter aside and started her fortune telling.
Lucy continued looking down, which got Natsu's attention.
"Huh? Hey Lucy, you okay?" The Dragon Slayer asked.
"Don't worry, we still have the clock hand!" Happy sated.
"No, it's not that." Lucy mumbled, of which made the duo frown. She remembered the past few days; how all of her Celestial Spirits didn't appear before her. "It's just…ever since we came back from Tenrou Island, my Celestial Keys didn't work once."
"What?" Nic said shocked.
Pavo's eyes widened and his frown deepened.
Vanessa blinked with surprise. "Not even once? That is odd."
Macao looked down. "I was afraid of this."
Everyone turned towards him in question.
"What are you saying?" Michelle kindly asked. "You mean you know something of Lucy's Spirits?"
"Unfortunately." The Fourth Master stated somberly. "But it ain't good in any way." He turned towards Lucy. "There have been reports all over the world that Celestial Spirit keys were inactive for the past three years."
Everyone gasped in shock.
Natsu stepped forward. "Hold up! You mean this wasn't just Lucy, but every single person all over Earth Land?!"
Macao nodded slowly. "Yeah. No one knows why, and Mages have been in major trouble because of this. This case has been very problematic, and the Council themselves can't seem to put it together. It's all just a big mystery, and there aren't any answers."
Natsu started to show veins as he held up a fist. "So why didn't you tell us sooner, huh?!"
Macao and the group that stayed behind for 7 years looked down despondently. Macao of course sighed. "You wouldn't know." He said lowly. "These past 7 years have been pure paranoia; you can never be sure of anything anymore." He then turned towards everyone else. "Listen up! Wherever Lucy goes, a Mage must be with her at all times, understand?"
"Right." They all responded.
Through it all, Lucy still frowned.
Later on, after Cana got some insight regarding Lucy's old family mansion, Macao and Wakaba met Gildarts outside. They all only got a few hours of sleep, and the sun was set to rise in a couple of hours, so now was better than later.
"Are you up for this?" Macao asked the Crash Mage.
Gildarts nodded. "Yeah, why wouldn't I?" He asked seriously.
"You're the only one aside from Nic who can pull this off, and we need him in case you're not around." Wakaba noted.
Not too far, Cana observed her father "There he goes, sneaking off under the cover of night." She then saw Gildarts turn towards her.
Makarov sweatdropped. "Go easy on him."
Gildarts began walking over with a big smile. "Cana sweetie, were you hearing us~?" He chimed.
Cana crossed her arms. "A little bit."
He clasped his hands together. "Do you wanna tag along with your Daddy? We never had a family job before."
Cana turned away. "Sorry Dad, but I just back from a job and I'm completely out of Magic Power. I think I'll rest up a bit."
Though stricken with shock from turning him down, her reasoning more than backed her up. He wouldn't want anything happening to his daughter if she were left powerless. Anything!So he thought best, despite his sulking manner, as to let his daughter regain her Magic Power since she had to use the last recharged bit for her Fortune Telling Magic.
"Okay, you be safe then." He said as he walked off. "Get your rest, eat your vegetables-"
"Will you just get moving?!" Cana shouted, prompting Gildarts to scurry along. Once he was gone, Makarov turned towards Cana.
"So, that's going easy, huh?" He accused.
Cana turned away, shaking her head. "I wasn't lying."
After the sun arose, everything was arranged. With the clock hand still targeted by the Legion Corps, Nic had come up with a strategy. Figuring the Legion Corps would want the clock hand, they'd think it'd be with Lucy. So what Nic strategized was that the key would stay at Sophie's place for a little while. Cana and Sophie decided to stay behind and recharge their batteries while Nic, Vanessa, Pavo, and Team Natsu forged on ahead towards Lucy's old home.
Once there, Natsu looked at the abandoned site. "Huh, this place looks familiar."
"It's where Lucy grew up." Erza reminded him.
Nic, having on his sunglasses, looked ahead at the mansion. "I must say, this has to rival the Parfum Palace in Kalos."
"Yeah, you can say that again." Vanessa nervously smiled. "I still can't believe you had to pay to get inside."
Nic glanced down at her. "So you learned the hard way to, huh?"
Michelle smiled. "Such good times. I remember having so much fun here!"
Lucy turned towards Michele in surprise. "Uh…wait! You've been here before?!"
Michelle then got to the fountain and sunk to her knees and expelled so much tears while gasping and crying. "Gwaahaha! *gasp*WE…WE USED TO PLAY ALL THE TIME!" She cried out.
"Uh, r-right! Yeah! I remember now!" Lucy said nervously. Though she didn't remember it at all, she only said it to cheer her up.
"Wait a go, Lucy. You made her cry again." Natsu said.
"Yeah, what'd she ever do to you?" Pavo said, posing. "Friends don't make others cry!"
"Oh shut up!" Lucy made them silent.
Michelle sniffled. "Do you remember all the pretty clothes we made?"
"You made clothes?" Wendy asked.
Erza smiled. "I bet you two were adorable." Of course Nic nodded in agreement.
Michelle turned towards the others and smiled. "We used to make the cutest clothes of paper and flowers."
"HUH?!" Lucy flushed with red, and Vanessa put a hand to her mouth with shock as well.
Natsu leaned in towards Gray, confusion all over his face. "How do you make clothes out of paper and flowers?"
Gray shrugged. "Beats me…"
Of course they both tried to picture it, and seeing a sexy image of Lucy in paper and Michelle in flowers and leaves made them blush, which earned them a one-way ticket to being kicked to the sky by Lucy.
"Pervs!" The blonde shouted.
Everyone was inside the abandoned mansion, where everyone was set. Natsu and Gray were present with large bumps on their heads catered by Erza. With everyone back on track, the mission started.
"So uh, does anyone know where to start?" Wendy asked, holding Carla in her arms.
"Yes, and do we know what we're looking for?" Carla wondered.
Nic crossed his arms, sunglasses still on his face despite being indoors. "We'll cover ground by splitting into teams of two, with the exception of Vanessa, Pavo, and myself." He elaborated. "We'll look for clocks. Anything related to clocks. If you find an inscription of any evidence that may lead to clocks, take thorough note of it."
The teams all split up, and Nic's team with him, his sister, and Pavo all soon found themselves in Lucy's Father's library.
Looking at all the books, Vanessa raised a brow. "Oh, no wonder Lucy's a bookworm."
"Yes, she does have some insight when it comes to literature." Nic pointed and scrolled at the various book titles around him. "Hopefully her father left something in the form of a book, or something that Lucy could relate to."
Pavo posed in various ways in conjunction to scrolling his finger through the various titles. "Hmmmm."
As Pavo scrutinized the titles, Nic took a moment to stop and look at Pavo. "Hey, Pavo."
The peacock-obsessed dancer turned towards him. "Yes, Nic?"
Nic grinned. "Thank you for helping us out earlier; back in Dahlias, and with Cana and Sophie from last night. We really can't thank you enough."
Pavo's huge grin returned and looked modest. "That's what friends are for. I value the bonds I make with all who help guide me through the darkest times, and you three just happen to fit into that category."
Nic glanced back at the book titles. "Speaking of which, what are you gonna do now?" He looked at another shelf. "Are you going to join another guild, or do you need some time?"
Pavo looked back at the bookshelves. "Well…I haven't put much thought." He then smiled back enormously. "I just want to be around the ones that I can count on."
Nic continued looking ahead at the various books. "Well whatever it is you choose, there's a home for you."
Pavo's pacing slowed down dramatically as his perky expression began to dim. His grin slowly began to dim to a weak frown. "H-home…home…" His voice was so irregular it was almost despondent.
Vanessa looked at Nic and his friend and kept a grin. She then took notice of a book right beside her, different by the hand-made binding.
"Huh." She then read it aloud. "Let's see, 'To My Daughter'." She then looked back at Nic. "Hey, Nic, Pavo! I found something!"
"Oh really?" Pavo took a large leap and held a pose in front of Vanessa while Nic walked up to her.
"What's it say?" The older Pularis sibling asked.
"It says 'To My Daughter'." She scrolled through the pages, and much to their shock, every page was blank. The three were more than a little confused as they expected at least a single word in one of the pages, but all were completely left untouched by time. "Why aren't there any words inscribed?"
"A spell maybe? Or maybe we need special glasses to read?" Nic inquired.
Pavo hummed while he tried to process the information in front of him as well. "Let's see now…a riddle perhaps."
Nic and Vanessa turned towards him at what he said.
"Call me crazy, but maybe approaching the only words inscribed is the best way to go. Maybe perhaps, switch them around or backwards?"
Nic and Vanessa turned towards the other. "Well he's not wrong. Let's gather the others and decipher what we can."
Vanessa nodded in agreement.
"Gah, so boring!" Natsu entered the library. "Just what the heck are we supposed to find anyway?"
Before him and Happy was the whole gang, all of which having various letters spelling out 'To My Daughter'. Despite their efforts, they keep scrambling up the words.
"Hey, you guys making a crossword?" The pink-haired mage asked.
"Don't be silly, we're making an anagram." Carla answered.
"Please, be quite." Erza said.
Nic looked at the words before him, but no matter what, it didn't help. "This is more elaborate than we imagined."
"Sounds fun to me!" Natsu had his huge smile on his face and approached everyone, but when he came to a point, his nose twitched and he hitched a few huffs and let out a large sneeze, one strong enough to completely blow away all the letters in front of everyone.
Carla showed a latter with snot on it. "You just ruined our train of thought!"
"Wait a go, Natsu." Gray remarked coldly.
"Woops, my bad." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly with a smile.
A sudden clang sound and he was met with a sword in front of him, causing him and Happy to jerk back in shock.
Erza glared at Natsu angrily. "I was on the verge of a breakthrough!"
Vanessa sweatdropped. "Well, remind me to not break her concentration."
Nic half-grinned nonchalantly at Erza's usual self, which was one of the things he admired about her. He looked down and saw the words in front of him spelling out something. He looked surprised as it spelled out 'MYTH'.
"Hm, 'MYTH'?" Pavo questioned.
"It looks like it; perhaps it's best to make it important." Nic said. "But…the question now is, what is it that we spell with the remaining letters?"
Vanessa, Lucy, and everyone else each individually then presented letters that made some sense, now spelling out 'DUO GREAT MYTH'.
Erza read it aloud. "'DUO GREAT MYTH'?"
Immediately, Lucy sprung an idea. "Oh, I know!" This caught everyone's interests. "There's a pair of books known as the Two Great Myths. Both were written by Will Neville; with one being called Life of the Clockwork, and where the inscription originated!"
Nic's eyes widened a little by this surprise. "Interesting. And what's the second book?"
"This!" Lucy held up a picture book with a key, a girl looking away, and stars. "Ta-da! Key to the Starry Heavens!"
"A picture book?" Pavo questioned with a scrutinizing facial expression.
"It's more than that! It's a work of art!" Lucy argued.
"Well on the bright side, at least we have a lead." Gray stated.
Erza nodded. "It seems like the perfect place to start looking for clues."
Vanessa narrowed her eyes. "Hopefully this isn't another anagram. Maybe another message is within the book this time."
"Hopefully…" Getting an odd idea, Lucy looked agitated when Happy was behind her. "Uh, is there something you'd like to share with us, Happy?"
"This is one of my favorite works of art. The Tortoise and the Hare is a classic!" He held up a book that looked as though a child drew on it, showing a rabbit and a turtle.
"If you would be so kind, we'd like that book." A mysterious voice called out. Immediately, everyone got on guard.
Happy held the book close to him. "I'm not giving this book to some stranger!"
The door handle to the library glowed green and began to expand. "Sorry, but I don't find your jokes satisfying in the very least." The double doors couldn't hold the weight of the door handle and the whole thing went down.
"The door handle broke it!" Vanessa exclaimed in shock.
A small figure was seen walking through the dust. Large glasses were seen on its face. "How naïve. The door handle merely doubled its length, thus rendering the door unable to support its weight."
Before everyone, shocking Carla and Happy the most, was a light blue cat with a huge hat with the Zentopia symbol. He had white 'pants' and dark blue shirt with a red scarf.
"I don't believe it!" Happy exclaimed.
Carla's eyes narrowed. "Yes, I'm quite shocked as well…another Exceed."
Happy stepped back. "But he doesn't look like anyone from Extalia."
"That's because he wasn't there. He watched from one of the eggs sent to Earth Land." Carla assumed.
Natsu stepped forward. "Alright, who the heck are ya?!"
The Exceed adjusted his glasses with book in another hand. "The brains of the Legion Corps. The name's Samuel."
Gray, shirtless, readied his Ice-Make Magic. "So you Zentopia clowns came snooping around for answers now, did ya?"
Samuel nodded. "Precisely." Wings sprouted on his back and be began to ascend. "I must admit, as of this evening I was caught in a revelation. My calculations never called for the clock hand retrieval to be a failure. You can imagine my surprise, Luminous. Byro was mighty scornful of your giant dragon, as was Sugarboy with this talking reptilian creature."
Nic remained quiet as Samuel stopped displaying his worrisome ways.
Samuel opened a book he was carrying. "That aside, I was precise on the assumption of you coming here to find a clue, and here you are with one in hand. I amaze myself sometimes."
"How about you assume this! Ice-Make: Lance!" Gray unleashed several lances of ice.
Erza requipped into her Lightning Empress Armor. She aimed her spear and shot lightning at Samuel.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!" Natsu released a stream of fire.
"Try this! Emanation Beam!" Vanessa put her hands together and released a teal beam of aura.
Before Nic could launch his attack, something sprung up in his head. He gasped. "Wait-!"
But it was too late as a man with brown-red shaggy hair and sideburns in a knight's attire with a giant spear and shield appeared in front of Samuel. The shield was put in front, and the attack all bounced off of the shield and headed on various directions.
"WHAT THE-?!" Lucy panicked as several holes were created and the walls cracked. "AAAAHHHH! YOU GUYS! I WAS GONNA BUY THIS PLACE BACK SOMEDAY!"
Pavo turned towards Nic. "That's why you didn't attack?"
"Yeah." Nic said with an unsettling vibe. "I had a theory; if there were brains…there'd be brawn."
"You got that right! You got experience and intelligence!" The knight with a huge grin looked at Nic. "I'm the spearman of the Legion Corps! The name is Dan Straight."
"Another weird guy?" Happy wondered.
Dan held up his shield. "You guys like Ricochet? Quite a nifty shield. It can deflect any attack right back at ya."
Erza clenched her fists. "Such a strong shield."
"Looks like being careful is a priority. We can't turn Lucy's home into a trash heap." Gray stated.
"You guys suck! I'll take you on!" Natsu shouted, covering his fists in flames,
Dan held up his shield with a smirk as Natsu roared and swamped the shield with fire, but all of the fire converged into one point and dispersed everywhere, causing everyone to dodge in various directions.
Samuel, untouched by the fire, pointed at Lucy. "That girl! She has the book!"
Lucy found herself targeted and she held up the book, acting as bait. "You want this?! How about you come and get it!"
Dan was left startled for a moment before blinking. In his eyes he saw a vision of loveliness. As Lucy turned to run, this magnified her beauty even more, causing his heart to thump. "Don't go!" He screamed. He threw the humungous spear, piercing the ground in front of Lucy, making her squeal and stop.
Dan appeared behind her. "Such beauty! OH I CAN'T TAKE IT!" Everyone looked on as he dropped to his knees and pounded the ground.
"Such incredible beauty! It's like love has struck me with its arrow and every beat gets stronger and stronger! It's almost too much to handle!"
His reaction made everyone completely white with revelation, blinking out at what in the world was going on. Nic, Vanessa, Pavo, Erza, and everyone just stood there nervously as Dan shook Lucy's hand as she was the most bewildered.
"And what do they call the vision of beauty before me?" He questioned.
"Uh…Lucy." She answered nervously.
"LUCY! OH YES!" He shouted to the heavens. "OH SUCH PERFECTION BEFORE ME! LU~CY!"
Samuel shook his head. "I feared for this."
"L-O-V-E! LOVE!" Dan shouted with great joy.
"Uh…I'm confused. What's happening?" Lucy wondered.
Dan was gonna progress his love more, but he sensed something behind.
"Lucy!" Erza swung her spear down and Nic was seen doing a Crush Claw motion, cracking the down a little as Dan jumped dodged both attacks.
Dan landed and turned towards the two. "Stay back! No one comes between true love!"
Erza requipped into her Flight Armor, as to where Nic shifted into his Mind Plate Form.
"Lucy, Michelle, escape while you can. Everyone else, cover them!" Nic ordered.
However, they were all so dazed from Dan expressing his love. Vanessa was the first to finally speak up.
"U-uh…what?" She asked.
"I just blinked out there." Gray said.
"Very overwhelming." Pavo figured.
Natsu was able to shake off his initial shock and looked annoyed. "Hey! Let me take care of them!"
Erza continued looking at Dan. "Your job is to keep Lucy safe. Now go!" She barked, much to Natsu's annoyance. Though he let it slide and began to run, though not without a parting shot, along with Gray.
Both shot fire and ice at Dan, who eagerly had his shield in front and the ice and fire streams deflected into various directions, breaking down the wall that led to outdoors.
Happy and Carla carried Lucy and Michelle respectfully as they screamed from Natsu and Gray's attacks, though as they left, Happy looked back at Samuel and kept on going.
Samuel turned a page in his book. "Let's see…given the layout of an estate…yes. Dan, I trust that you'll incapacitate Titania and Luminous?"
"Yeah I got it." He assured with a huge grin. With that, Samuel departed and left Erza and Nic to handle Dan on their own.
"En guard!" Erza zoomed in to slash at Dan, but to her shock her body bounced right off the shield with slash waves following in her direction. "Even physical attacks are useless?!"
"Erza!" Nic caught Erza in time before she hit the ground. He quickly set her on the ground and turned to see Dan advancing with his spear. He quickly lurched out of the way without touching the spear. He and Erza then watched as the spear touched the ground, which flashed a green color before expanding into giant rocks, prompting them to jump out of the way.
"He made the rock grow?!" Erza exclaimed.
Nic narrowed his eyes under his sunglasses. "It's gotta be those weapons he uses."
"Right again! My spear is called Habaraki. A weapon that can enlarge or decrease one's mass!" Dan held up the spear and pointed it at Nic and Erza. "Now, just try and hit me!"
He jumped at them again and thrust his spear out, which forced them both to move in opposite directions. The spear hit the ground again, causing the rock beneath to grow into large boulders that hardly grazed the two as they moved so fast.
Nic skidded to a halt and extended his arms out. "I'll try and stop him! Psychic!" Nic's eyes glowed and he targeted the shield.
"Nuh-uh-uh~!" Dan's shield was pointed out at Nic, and the telekinetic force created from Psychic deflected itself back at Nic. Nic felt the force shoot back at him, causing him to grunt harshly as he crashed into the bookshelves behind him.
"Nic!" Erza had little time as Dan thrust his spear again rapidly at Erza, but her Flight Armor made her fast enough to evade all of the blows, to which touched the books behind her, causing them to grow and crash into the ground, making the floor rattle.
"HRAH!" Erza slashed with her swords, but were met by Dan's shield, once again bouncing back her attack, causing her to crash into the shelves.
Nic grunted as Dan readied his spear for Erza. 'I gotta do something. That spear and shield combo is very troublesome.' Looking around quickly, his eyes caught note of one of the books right beside him. 'Of course!'
"HYAH!" Dan thrust his spear at Erza, who was still recovering from that thud. As Dan advanced, he was caught surprised when his spear in hand glowed one moment and was replaced by some book. Dan came to a halt and blinked. He and Erza alike were both caught surprised.
"Whoa now, what just happened?" Dan was too confused until he felt a wind from behind.
"HRAH!" Nic thrusted forward with the giant spear, in which Dan turned around and widened his eyes. He only had space to jump and dodge before Nic followed through and drove the spear into the floor.
Once again the little rocks from the cracked flooring expanded, which turned into boulders that were around Nic as he held Habaraki and stood in front of Erza.
Erza was grateful that Nic pulled off a great move, but now wasn't the time for questions. All she did was look past him and glare down Dan.
Dan pointed a finger at Nic and looked surprisingly baffled. "But…but how in the world did you get Habaraki?!"
Nic kept a calm demeanor as he poised Habaraki. "It's a move known as Trick. It swaps a held item of any whom I choose." He took a new stance and straightened upwards. "Now, do you wish to continue?"
Dan grunted as he saw that Nic was turning his own weapon against him. He couldn't risk harming his offensive weapon; and he was fortunate as the flooring caught all of their attention. The ground shook as the flooring cracked violently.
"Uh…gah!" Dan realized it. "The floor's weight! It's too much!"
"What?!" Erza exclaimed.
They all saw the floor finally break apart, and the three fell down below with books of various sizes and debris falling down with them.
The group ran down the hallway, hearing constant rumbling. They made it down to the first floor, where they were making a break for the exit.
"Do you think Nic and Erza are okay?" Vanessa questioned while running.
Pavo looked down at her. "Oh don't be ridiculous! Those two are fine!"
Vanessa looked ahead. "Yeah I guess so, as long as they have each other…" A small smile crept on Vanessa's face as she pictured the two.
Michelle brought everyone back to attention. "What?"
They all stopped when Samuel appeared in front of them.
"What the-?! When did you get here?!" Lucy exclaimed.
"Approximately 10 seconds ago. Your movements were so easy to track." The Exceed stated. "Calculations of floorplans and someone's state of panic is as simple as putting 2 and 2 together."
Natsu immediately fumed. "Time to shut you up!" He swung his flaming fists around, but not a single one hit Samuel when he flew through the air as nimble as a Noivern.
Samuel snickered.
"Hold still…"
The floor above suddenly gave in, and everyone gaped their mouths, save Samuel who glided out the window as debris, books, and three people fell from above. They all screamed as they crashed, and they all made way and made a break for the outside as Nic, Erza, and Dan fell through.
The dust and debris settled, and Nic and Erza were seen just mere feet away from the other and slowly got up. Nic slowly arose to a knee, followed by Erza.
"You alright?" He asked.
Despite the few scratches they both ascertained, they weren't affected. Erza looked at Nic. "Don't worry, I'm okay."
Dan picked up Habaraki, which was several feet away from Nic. "I'll be taking this back, thank you." He retrieved his weapon and jumped out of the opening of the wall created from the shattering books and debris. Both Nic and Erza grunted as they arose to their feet in unison.
Outside, Lucy and the others were intercepted by Samuel and Dan. They all scowled and readied themselves to attack.
Samuel lowered to the ground and adjusted his glasses. "Look, please just hand over the book so we can be done with this unpleasant business." He insisted.
Wendy and Vanessa stepped forward, along with Pavo keeping a pose to use his dancing expertise. Lucy pivoted and made a last-ditch attempt.
"Happy, grab it!" Lucy threw the book and it spun in midair. The Exceed grabbed the book in midair and started flying off.
Dan fumed and stomped. "HEY! You can't go flying off like that!" He exclaimed.
Unlike him, Samuel wasn't at all impressed. He sighed as he stood behind Michelle. "How simple-minded can you get?"
He flipped up her skirt, causing Michelle to squeal and Dan to blush. But his blush was replaced with bewilderment and surprise when Samuel grabbed the actually book from her skirt.
"This is the book we want." Samuel held the 'Key to the Starry Heavens' book up.
"What?!" Natsu exclaimed.
Happy stopped flying away and held the bait, which was the 'Tortoise and the Hare' book he showed earlier. "Aww, he didn't fall for it!"
"How'd he know?" Lucy wondered.
Samuel began taking in the words and pages fast with Gale-Force Reading Glasses, which allowed him to take in more information far faster than what one would imagine. "I calculate every possible outcome for any situation." He stated before closing the book. "Meaning that I'll always be countless steps ahead of you."
Having enough, Natsu, Wendy, Gray, and Vanessa shot their individual attacks at Dan and Samuel. Their beams closed in, but Dan easily blocked using Ricochet.
"You can have the book back now. I've memorized every single page." Samuel announced.
"WAIT-!"
Lucy was too late to act as she only turned tail and ran as the attacks bounced off in different directions. The beams blasted all about and Nic and Erza rushed out just in time only to find beams raining down at them. Nic and the redhead quickly covered up as the whole terrain was swallowed up in dust.
Through the dust, Nic grunted and his eyes glowed. Using his Psychic once again, he swiped his arm in a long and fast arc, ridding the dust all around. Of course this left him with a bad taste in his mouth because Samuel was flying away with Dan.
Dan smiled as he looked back. "Bye LuLu! Next time we meet, let's make it you and me!"
Samuel looked ahead with an omniscient look. "Dan, tell me, have you been putting weight on again?"
Erza and everyone watched on as they made their escape, not wishing to pursue them.
"At least we have the book." Happy said, looking on the bright side.
"Only after ridiculing us." Carla stated sourly.
Natsu raised his fists. "Outsmarted by a cat in a diaper! Man this is dumb!"
Vanessa narrowed her eyes. "We'll settle this eventually."
Nic and Erza alike both clenched their fists in unison as the confrontation between Fairy Tail and Zentopia was reaching critical levels.
Here's a chapter update for the first day of March. I tried to make the second half not as op in the case of Nic, despite how heavily experienced he is. Though I won't say the same for Garchomp, he is Nic's most powerful (and lethal) Pokémon.
By the way, if I didn't tell you guys, Garchomp's voice is much like Helios from Bakugan: New Vestroia, at least in my perspective.
I won't say anything about Pavo nor his significance, except for those I explained to in PMs. I have this idea that'll happen when we get deep into the Key to the Starry Sky Arc.
On an unrelated note, I started collaborating with RavenousYetMysterious again and we are making the next Fairy Ed chapter. I know it's been a really long time and we're sorry for the wait, but we'll be working as fast as we can and be as elaborate as ever.
I'm getting close to 300 Reviews for this story. Keep those comments and opinions coming guys, I appreciate it!
Please Favorite, Follow, & Review this story and/or chapter as always! :)
Next Time: Ruins of Ruin