Fairy Tail: Rekindle
Fairy Tail, Rave © Hiro Mashima
Note: My One-or-None Policy is still in effect. That means that unless there is at least one review for this and future chapters posted, all stories will come to a definite halt. That includes Naruto: Jinchuriki Chronicles and Birds or Prey.
Note 2: Obviously not my best work, but it's just lucky that I even had enough time to write this. I'll be a lot busier lately with finals coming up, so please be patient.
Chapter Nine: Give and Take
Team XL had hit its first low point as a group.
It was the morning after confronting the Spirit King for the first time and the theft of the Golden Gate Key – Izumi screamed into a pillow every time she was reminded of it. The team of downtrodden wizards was sulking in the study room with their client, Luke Vilpillinen, while the maids busied themselves with cleaning the broken glass on the floor. The Black Dragon Slayer was lying face down on the couch as she moaned in the cushion, ignoring Blaise and Ur sitting on her head and butt respectively. Although, the tan-skinned foreigner could have sworn she felt someone pinch her behind and was pretty sure it wasn't Kane. The iron-clad titan was too absorbed with the scenery outside the broken window, looking close to punching the sun for being too happy.
Shooing the cleaning maids away and thanking the butlers for the snack brought to them, Luke sighed heavily with his eyes trained on the wizards, looking thoroughly disappointed.
"Well, I don't know what to say." Luke stated unhappily. "I trusted you to protect my most valuable possession and you lost it to the Spirit King. When I heard that Fairy Tail was one of the best wizard guilds in Fiore, I thought you would be more…"
"Don't! Finish! That! Sentence!" Izumi growled lowly; Luke shivered slightly.
"We're sorry that we lost your Golden Gate Key, sir." Ur apologized formally. "But in all fairness, you seemed to have left out a few details about what we would be going up against if we were going to be facing the Spirit King. Like for instance, that he already had four of the twelve Golden Gate Keys."
"Better make that five now that he has Virgo." Kane grunted in addition. "And there's also the issue of this Spirit King guy being able to use multiple summons at the same time. Just that gypsy spirit alone was enough trouble without him summoning that scorpion."
"The ability of multiple summonses is rare even among Celestial Wizards." Blaise commented thoughtfully. "Earlier this morning, I talked do some of the soldiers from Fiore's military and they confirmed knowing about the Spirit and the Golden Keys he had collected. They also wondered why you failed to tell us when everyone else knew."
"I thought that since you were from Fairy Tail, you might be able to handle it." Luke responded nervously. "After all, doesn't Fairy Tail have its own Celestial Spirit Wizard? Maybe you could call her up and…"
"Lucy Heartfilia has been dead for fifteen years." Ur said coldly, cautiously looking for her best friend's reaction. The Black Dragon Slayer didn't respond – she was either well-adjusted to the fact or simply didn't care. "In any case, we usually like to be well informed of what we are dealing with before we accept a mission."
"Emphasis on the 'usually' part." Kane groaned.
"Well, I'm sorry." Luke said with obvious disappointment. "But when I placed the job request, I specifically said that the wizards would be required to have experience against Celestial Spirit Wizards. If this job proves to be too much for you, then feel free to go back to your guild and tell them how you failed to complete your mission." By this point, Luke was bordering on the edge of anger for the wizard's failure – a mutual feeling shared with Kane. "I knew I should have hired the White Crusade in the first place. After all, they are the number one guild in…"
"Shut up!" Izumi roared. The Black Dragon Slayer leaped to her feet in a rage, sending Ur and Blaise flying to opposite sides of the room. Luke visibly stiffened when the tan-skinned wizard leaned in close with her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Listen here, rich boy. Fairy Tail is going to catch the Spirit King and we're going to beat him until he's black and blue."
"I-If this is about the reward…" Luke stammered fretfully.
"This isn't about the reward anymore." Izumi claimed, gritting her teeth. "I don't care if I never see Virgo's Key again – although, it would be nice if we got it back. You heard what that nečist said last night: that Fairy Tail deserves its second place ranking. He was looking down on our guild like it's a second-rate carnival." She punches her fist into her open palm, coating hand in black flames. "I'll never forgive that guy for insulting the Fairy Tail guild."
"I know I don't say this enough." Kane interrupted with a calm smirk. "But the runt is right." Izumi grumbled something under her breath about being a late bloomer. "We need to teach this guy a lesson about what happens when you insult the Fairy Tail guild."
"Well, since everyone's so serious about this…" Ur commented as she dusted off her legs – her pants went missing an hour ago. "I guess we'll be staying here a while. But the real question is how are we going to find him again? Now that we know what we're up against, there's no way the Spirit King is gonna risk attacking the same place twice."
"And now that he already has Virgo's Key, he has nothing left to take." Blaise included, taking notice of Luke's insulted look. "Oh, c'mon, it's not like you have anything you want to keep anyway." The young millionaire thought about it and concluded that she was correct. "Now think everyone. The Spirit King is obviously interested in expensive things, Golden Gate Keys, and performing in front of a large crowd of people. So how can we use all these things to our advantage?"
The room went silent as the groups tried to pull together all their thoughts into devising a way to catch the mysterious, and rather talented, magical thief. Like the last time they found him, they were going to need something big and valuable to attract his attention. Just like the ten-foot priceless diamond statue the servants were carrying across the hall. There second option was to find another Golden Gate Key to draw him out, but where were they going to find one on such short notice? Kane winced slightly as the sunlight passed through the window and bounced off Izumi's key into his eyes. And finally, they were going to need a large crowd of people – the Spirit King was reported to love performing in front of an audience.
"Excuse me, sir." The head butler called from the threshold. "But the guests will be arriving within the hour and the head chef wants to be sure that everything is as you requested it. Now, we intended to serve a total of five hundred plus, correct?"
"Not now, Niles!" Luke waved irritably. "Can't you see we're in the middle of something?! Just…handle it yourself!"
"Very good, sir." The head butler bowed, muttering under his breath as he left. "Pompous twit."
"Now, back to the discussion." Luke reminded. "How to catch the Spirit King."
"Seriously!" Ur exclaimed incredulously; the others jumped briefly. "No one is going to say anything about it? Ugh, idiots." She walked around the table, kneeling next to their client. "Ok, going back to what he said: serving a total of five hundred plus?"
"Oh, that's for the Annual Charity Event or ACE for short." Luke answered with some apparent confusion. "Every year, someone in Freesia Town is selected to host an auction that is, supposedly, to help raise charity. Truthfully, it's just a publicity stunt to make the rich people look good – they wouldn't even be caught dead in the same room with someone who didn't have an annual income under one million jewels."
"That seems like a harsh stereotype." Izumi commented.
"This year, they chose me to host the ACE." Luke finished. "Although, it's probably because I'm the new guy and everyone else was too lazy to do it themselves."
"This is exactly what we've been looking for!" Ur jumped up, her fist clenched with confidence. "With hundreds of fat, rich guys giving away expensive valuables, there's no way the Spirit King will be able to resist making an appearance. Now…since it's clear that this guy's been collecting Golden Gate Keys, using another one as bait would be a surefire to bring him out into the open."
"But where are we gonna find another Golden…Gate…Key…?" Izumi said slowly.
The Black Dragon Slayer was starting to feel uncomfortable when she realized that all eyes were squared on her. At first, she thought she might have slipped back into Seven speak – even after practicing for months to learn Fiore's language – or she was just that attractive. Personally, she was hoping for the latter. But when following their line of vision, Izumi understood that they weren't staring at her, but the Golden Gate Key of Aquarius tied around her neck. Now it made sense: they wanted to use her mother's key as bait for the Spirit King. It wasn't a brilliant plan and would catch their attention of the thief in no time, so Izumi did the only sensible thing anyone in her position would do.
She jumped out the third story window.
The hour had passed, the night had fallen surprisingly fast, and the Vilpillinen Mansion was alive with activity. As according to Luke's prediction, every billionaire from Magnolia to Crocus arrived at for the so-called 'charity event' with swarms of personal publishers and reports nipping at their heels. Everyone short of the King of Fiore himself had showed up for the festivities, but that was only because he was summoned to a meeting with the Magic Council, according to one of the passing reports. There were also mentions of the newest inheritor of the Heartfilia Konzern – a woman named Aki Nyrok – that had refused to show for personal reasons. Under normal conditions, Izumi would have loved to meet the woman who had inherited her mother's fortune, but she had other pressing matters.
The unfortunate Black Dragon Slayer – lacking her beloved Golden Gate Key – was slumped over the ballroom bar counter, simultaneously moaning and sobbing. Trying to blend in with the one percent community, the Fairy Tail wizards were provided clothing made from the finest materials shipped in from countries like Bosco, Caelum, Minstrel, and Seven. Izumi was outfitted with a traditional gown of her home country made from Obsidian Desert Silk, which had unfortunately been splotched with orange stains since she arrived. The Black Dragon Slayer rapped her knuckles against the bar table, requesting another shot to her already growing collection of twenty glasses.
"Make it stronger this time, Niles." Izumi moaned. "I want to forget everything about tonight."
"Don't you think you had enough, ma'am?" Niles questioned.
"I'll tell ya when I had enough!" Izumi screeched, drawing a lot of unwanted attention from the guests. "What are you all looking at?" The visitors quickly turned away, not wanting to incur a drunken woman's wrath. "Glup bogataški. Minding their own business."
"Izumi?" The Black Dragon Slayer managed to pull herself up enough to face her best friend, who was dressed with an unusual combination of a beautiful icy-blue Caelum sequins dress and a pile of padlocked chains. "I know I'm gonna regret asking, but…what are you doing?"
"Drowning my sorrows." Izumi groaned as the butler brought her a shot.
"In orange juice?" Ur asked with a raised brow.
"I'm only fifteen!" Izumi whined, downing her tangy beverage in one gulp. "Ahh, that's the stuff. Sooo…interesting fashion statement your making. Is that some kinda Virgo-Mirajane style or something; I'm completely oblivious when it comes to fashion."
"If you're referring to the chain, then no." Ur chuckled lightly. "With these things on, there's no way I can subconsciously strip. I know it's a bit…unorthodox, but it is attracting a lot of attention and not just the bad kind. I even managed to get the number for someone's communication Lacrima."
"Well, all right!" Izumi grinned mischievously. "Ur Fullbuster: heartbreaker. I bet all the guys are just lining up to meet you."
"Uh…yeah, guys." Ur stammered nervously. "Of course it's a guy. I mean, who else could it be? It's not like I go around looking for pretty girls and ask for the communication numbers because that would be totally weird, right?" The Black Dragon Slayer stared silently at her best friend, noting that she perspiring more than usual. "Anyway…gotta go!"
"That was weird." Izumi commented, watching the Ice-Make wizard disappear into the crowd.
While the tan-skinned wizard returned to her admirable attempts of getting drunk, the other half of Team XL was mingling with the higher social class near the dance floor. It was a wonder how Luke managed to acquire a stylish, lavender dressing gown fit for an Exceed. Then again, with that kinda of money, anything was possible. The talking feline was chatting animatedly with plenty of eccentric billionaires while riding on Kane's shoulder, whom was looking as intimidating as usual. It didn't help that his titanic bone structure was too big for any formal attire and he simply chose to wear a blazer with the sleeves ripped off.
"And I told him: I asked for ivory bathroom tiles, not white." Blaise said jokingly, earning rapturous laughter from her audience. "I swear it is so hard to find good help these days, but what are you doing to do when the only help you can get has no opposable thumbs."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Kane whispered.
"I don't know." Blaise replied in a hushed tone. "Help me."
"All right, all right, back off, ya money-grubbin' parasites!" Kane commanded rudely; the guests muttered of poor etiquette. "And this is one of the sixteen different reasons why I hate talkin' to people: they so annoying."
"This comes from the guy who makes a habit of breaking people's bones." Blaise remarked.
"Yeah, there's something I've meant ta ask ya." Kane stated curiously. "I remember breaking the bones in the Dragon Slayer brat's arm the first day we met, you know, before I got slapped unconscious. But when she showed up on the train the next day, she was completely fine. What's up with that?"
"It's actually a funny story." Blaise answered interestingly. "Marine was taking Izumi to the hospital when they ran into a guy named Zero carrying a huge jar of leeches…"
"Excuse me? Could I have everyone's attention, please?" The clamor of the ballroom quickly died down with the exception of Izumi's pathetic moaning. Everyone's attention was directed to the stage on the far end of the room where Luke Vilpillinen was approaching the stand, tapping his microphone to check it. "Can everyone hear me all right? Thank you, everyone, for joining us at the twenty-fifth Annual Charity Event, hosted and sponsored by Vilpillinen Enterprises. As you know, we host this event every year to help those who are less privileged."
"Yeah, their accountants." Kane scoffed; Blaise hushed him.
"I would like to begin the auction with a small donation from a small company called uh…Dragneel Industries." Luke announced, clapping along with the crowd as the servants brought out the first item. There, nestled on a fine silk pillow, was Izumi's Golden Gate Key – the Dragon Slayer sobbed louder. "This is the genuine Golden Gate Key of Aquarius, the Water Bearer; not an imitation. One lucky bidder will have the pleasure of addition this one-of-a-kind item to their collection. Now, I would like to start the bid off at…"
"Twenty billion jewels!" Izumi screamed, jumping on top of the bar.
"You don't have that kind of money!" Ur yelled, performing a flying kick to knock the Dragon Slayer off. "Uh, sorry about that. Please continue."
"As I was saying…" Luke continued awkwardly. "I would like to star the bid off at five thousand jewels. Do I hear any bids?"
"Six thousand!"
"Eight thousand!"
"Sixteen thousand!"
"My key…" Izumi cried.
"Hey, calm down." Ur murmured, patting the Dragon Slayer's head soothing. "Nobody's going to buy your key. The Spirit King will show and then we'll get all the Gold Gate Keys back…hopefully."
"I have forty-seven million jewels!" Luke pronounced loudly. "Do I have forty-eight million? Forty-eight million jewels for the authentic Golden Gate Key of the Water Bearer! No? All right then, forty-seven million jewels going once…going twice…so…"
Without warning, all the lights in the ballroom went out simultaneously, sending the chamber into pitch-black darkness. There were a lot of screams, an occasional chorus of breaking glass, and the constant groans of people running into each other. Although while, Team XL was trying to swim their way towards the stage through the sea of rich people; they had to protect the Aquarius Key…oh, and Luke, too. Izumi, Ur, Kane, and Blaise had barely made it to the edge of the platform when a spotlight flashed above them. The Spirit King appeared center stage, bowing to an unheard applause. Luke was lying unconscious on the floor at the thief's feet – a large lump forming on the back of his head.
"Thank you, thank you." The Spirit King said enthusiastically. "I must say that it is an honor to be invited to attend this extraordinary event even if I never got a proper invitation. It's wonderful to see our selfish, spoiled, overweight one percent doing the courtesy of auctioning of such wonderful trinkets for those less fortunate. Now if only that piece of crap was actually true." The masked criminal casually stepped over to the podium where the Key of Aquarius was resting. "Well, since this is a charity event, perhaps we should give this key to someone more deserving…namely me."
"Ruke k sebi!" The Spirit King snapped up, narrowly jumping before the black fireball crashed into the stage. The Golden Gate Key was flung into the air, where it was caught by its true owner. "This key belonged to my mama just like the rest of those keys you stole. And if you think you can just walk in and take my Key…" The Black Dragon Slayer gripped her dress and ripped it straight off, revealing her normal attire underneath. "Then you're gonna have to pry from my cold, dead ruka!"
"Wait, how is it even logically possible for her to wear pants under her dress?" Ur asked confused.
"This is Izumi we're talking about." Blaise remarked.
"Who cares? Get him!" Kane shouted.
The metal-garbed titan shredded his already ripped blazer and jumped to the stand at the same moment Blaise leaped off his shoulder, transforming to her Battle Mode. Strangely enough, the small dress she had been wearing extended to match her taller, more feminine form – it was definitely made for Exceed formal wear. Following in her friends example, Ur gripped the fabric of her dress - padlocks and chains included - and ripped it clean off to reveal…that she was wear her underwear underneath. The Ice-Make wizard's face flushed with embarrassment when the crowd started muttering disapprovingly at her actions.
"I totally walked into that one, didn't I?" Ur mumbled, slowly marching to the stage.
"Uh…Ur, you're kinda…" Izumi began.
"I know!" Ur snapped.
"I honestly wasn't expecting you four to show up again." The Spirit King proclaimed in a mocking tone. "I thought you would on your way back to Magnolia with your tails between your legs, Fairy Tail." Ur stared at the thief thoughtfully; something about that sentence didn't seem right. "If you're in the mood to be humiliated again, I am more than happy to oblige. After all, it wouldn't be much fun collecting my prize without putting any effort in it." Reaching for the key ring on his belt, the masked criminal detached two Golden Gate Keys. "Open, Gate of the Heavenly Scales! Libra! Open, Gate of the Scorpion! Scorpio!
Being summoned from the Spirit World, the gypsy scale holder and the half-man, half-scorpion duo appeared in a brilliant flash of light.
"These guy again." Ur glared.
"We're ready for them this time." Blaise proclaimed with certainty.
"Get rid of the pests already." The Spirit King commanded casually.
"You realize you said that twice in two days." Scorpio stated playfully; a joke that didn't amuse his master. "All right, all right, I'm on it. How's about you ladies get a load of my Sand Buster!"
Similar to the night before, the Scorpion crouched low to the ground with his mechanical tail forward, spewing a typhoon of sand. Once again, Ur stepped between the heroes and the Celestial Spirit with his fist pressed into her open palm, creating a dramatic chill in the atmosphere. Cupping her hands around her mouth to form a funnel, the underwear-clad wizard shouted 'Ice-Make: Roar' and exhaled a heavy cloud of sparkling mist. The objects of opposite temperatures briefly clashed in the air, but the result was the rough grains being flash frozen into a misshapen sculpture. The cold chill traveled along the trail of sand until it returned to the originator, who quickly found himself consumed in the haze. When the moment had passed, Scorpio was found as a beautiful ice sculpture before being called back to the Spirit World.
Though his mask concealed his expression, the Spirit King was obviously irritated by the turn of events. Still, it was only one Celestial Spirit – he had more. The well-dressed thief snapped his fingers, commanding the Heavenly Scales to attention. The floating gypsy started tipping her scales and Team XL was slowly starting to feel heavier with each passing second. But before they realized it, a lavender blur swiped past Libra, severing the strings tied to her left hand. Blaise appeared directly behind the Celestial Spirit with her claws exposed – her God-given speed allowed her to move beyond human sight. With one of her scales disconnected, Libra was suddenly thrown off-balance and facefaulted to the floor, removing her influence over the wizards.
Libra attempted to rebalance herself when the Battle Mode Exceed performed a sweeping kick to the Celestial Spirit's abdomen, sending her tumbling back to her master. But as an unfortunate result, Blaise's Battle Mode was cancelled out and forced her to revert to her standard form – she made a mental note to ask Pantherlily for advice. As the Heavenly Scales flopped along the floor, the Spirit King used his foot to halt her progress. Libra groaned weakly and slowly looked up to her Summoner, hoping for forgiveness for her failure. But he had none. Without a hint of hesitation, the masked criminal stamped his heel into the gypsy's face.
"Worthless spirit!" The Spirit King sneered, digging his heel into her cheek. "You useless, good-for-nothing waste of space. I thought I warned you what would happen if you ever let me down. Seems I need to teach you another lesson."
"Master…please…" Libra pleaded.
"Nečist!" The Spirit King looked and barely jumped back in time to avoid Izumi's flaming fist. "What the hell is wrong with you? You're a celestial Spirit Wizard! How can you treat your Spirits like that?"
"I can treat my tools any way I want." The Spirit King stated nonchalantly; the vain on Izumi's neck was becoming more prominent. With a twist of his hand, the Spirit King drew another Key from his sleeves: one shaped like and axe. "For example. Open, Gate of the Golden Bull! Taurus!"
In a blaze of golden light, the newest arrival from the Spirit World stomped heavily on to the stage. As opposed to his title as the Golden Bull, Taurus looked more like an extremely muscular humanoid-cow given his white fur with black splotched and two lengthy horns. He didn't have much in terms of clothing; a dark unitard, a leather-brown belt across his chest, a pair of dark boots, and a row of bandages around his wrists with brown, fingerless gloves. Perhaps the only thing that gave him any respected despite his comedic appearance was the massive double headed battle axe.
The muscular bovine stood between Izumi and his Summoner, cracking his knuckles in an intimidating fashion. Marina had told her stories about Taurus; how he was the physically strongest of all of her mother's spirits. And while he was immensely loyal to his owner, he did have one fatal flaw…
"Moo! Look at that body!" Taurus howled perversely. The Golden Bull wasted no time leaving his master's side and started fawning over the Black Dragon Slayer. "Look at the cute little face and those slender curves! Maybe a little on the short side, but she's just so cute! And those breasts – moo, those marvelous breasts! I bet their super soft!" He stretched his fingers and grinned like a dirty pedophile. "Moo! I just have to touch them!"
"Beat it, te izopačen krava!" Izumi screamed, delivering a fearsome flaming uppercut.
But much to her surprise, the most her Black Dragon Fist had done was tilt his head back a little. Izumi was having a sudden flashback of her first mission request back in Magnolia when Kane shattered her arm. The man-cow snapped his head back to focus on the teenaged foreigner and smiled with his usual perverted look. Taurus grappled the Black Dragon Slayer by her wrists and effortlessly lifted her off the ground; the wizard fruitlessly swinging her legs at him. The Golden Bull looked ready to ravish her when…
"Iron Fist Style: Peregrine Dive!"
From out of nowhere, Kane dropped from the air with his arms cross and slammed into the Minotaur's neckline. The Golden Bull unleashed "Moo!" and staggered away sluggishly, releasing his hold on the Black Dragon Slayer. While Kane stepped between his teammate and the humanoid-bovine, Taurus grinned in a challenging way as he shook off Kane's attack.
"Hey, you must be pretty strong." Kane smirked confidently. "And normal person would have had their neck snap from a hit like that."
"It's been a while since anyone hit me with a mooove like that." Taurus said enthusiastically. "But it's gonna take a lot mooore than that to take me on."
"I'm growing tired of these games, Taurus." The Spirit King said irritably. "Just get rid of these brats so I can retrieve my Key."
"Whatever you want, boss." Taurus complied.
Reaching over his back, the Golden Bull strapped his mighty battle-axe and took a mighty horizontal swing at the Iron Fist of Fairy Tail. The girls had seen him withstand a bullet on the train, but Izumi had a suspicion that even Kane couldn't resist and a razor shape blade from a hulking cow. Their suspicions were proven correct when the dark-haired giant slapped his palms together over the axe edge, swiftly stopping it before reaching his neck. With Kane's hand full trying to stop the blade, Taurus took advantage with a strong kick to the wizard's stomach, sending him tumbling back by a few feet. Luckily, the iron-clad warrior managed to catch himself and tumble into a kneeling position.
Kane was hardly given any time to recover as Taurus stomped across the stage and swung his battle-axe down. But at the last second, the Iron Fist twisted for a roundhouse kick against the face of the blade, causing Taurus to divert from his path. Spotting the opening in the cow's defenses, Kane drilled his fist into the Celestial Spirit's rib cage and launched him to the wall, leaving a wide crack in the surface. The Golden Bull shook his head free of his dazed state just in time to spot the dark-haired warrior of Fairy Tail making another charge for him.
Taurus quickly ambled to his feet, making a grab for his weapon, and took a powerful swing across the air. Consequently for the Golden Bull, Kane predicted the movement and ducked enough to where that edge of the axe missed him by a hairbreadth. Taurus's weapon soon found itself wedged into the wall beside him and prevented a chance to retrieve it as Kane delivered an uppercut to the jaw. Taurus grunted from the blow, but quickly recovered and retaliated with swift knuckle blow to the cheek. Kane narrowed his eyes dangerously – it was on now.
Back and forth, the two mighty warriors pounded their fists against each other without showing any signs of stopping. But thankfully enough, the fist fight was brought to a screeching halt when Taurus and Kane snatched each other's fists, forcing them into a deadlock.
"You got some impressive moooves there, buddy." Taurus complimented. "I've been looking for a good sparring partner."
"Well, as much fun as I am having…" Kane grunted heavily. "I've got a job to do. Iron Fist Style: Bull Horn!"
In a quick blur of movement, Kane released his grappling hold on the muscular bovine and jumped forward to deliver a solid headbutt to Taurus's forehead. The resulting force of the blow slammed the Golden Bull through the wall and tossed him a good distance away into the gardens outside. Taurus, slumped into a dazed state, muttered something about 'beautiful breasts' before he was recalled to the Spirit World. Meanwhile, Kane was struggling to stay on his feet with Ur allowing him to use her shoulder for support – it looked like both of them had thick heads.
"Stupid perverted cow." The Spirit King growled angrily. "I should have known better to rely on such a worthless spirit."
"You son of a…" This time, the Spirit King wasn't as fortunate when Izumi slammed her flaming fist into the side of his face. The mysterious assailant dropped to the floor with a painful grunt; his mask was slightly cracked. "You have some nerve calling Celestial Spirits useless! They aren't some tools for you to use and then throw away when you are done! They are living creatures and deserve to be treated as such!"
"Spare me your idealistic fodder." The Spirit King replied mockingly. "Celestial Spirits are just that: spirits. They aren't alive – they are just magic given shape by the wizard. We can make the Celestial Spirits into any shape or form we wish; just look at Virgo."
"Why you…" Izumi snarled; black flames literally rolling off of her in waves. "I'm gonna beat the crap out of – Ugh!"
The Black Dragon Slayer didn't know how it happened. One moment she was ready to beat some sense into this nečist of a Celestial Spirit Wizard and the next, she was face first into the floorboards. The quick succession of painful cries that followed meant that Ur, Blaise, and Kane were also experiencing the same thing. Izumi's body felt alarmingly heavy to the point where she couldn't even lift her index finger. It didn't take a genius to figure out how it happened. It took a large part of her strength to turn her head, but she was able to spot Libra on the floor where they had left her. Apparently, the Heavenly Scales had managed to crawl across the stage to retrieve her missing dish and restore her gravitational powers.
"Master, I did it." Libra said happily, but with a slight tremble in her voice. "Does this make you happy, master?"
"Yes, it does actually." The Spirit King chuckled amusingly, returning to his feet and brushing the dust off his suit. "Perhaps you are not as useless as I suspected you were. Perhaps I shall reward you by not punishing you this time." Libra bowed her head gratefully; happy tears leaking out of the corner of her eyes. This only pissed Izumi more than she already was. "Now about my reward. I think I've earned that Golden Gate Key of yours. It will look so much better when it is added to my collection."
"No way!" Izumi yelled, tightening her grip on the Gate Key as the thief stated tugging at it. "You'll never get mama's key!"
"Listen here, you miserable little…" The Spirit King growled.
All of a sudden, a geyser of water passed between the Celestial thief and the Black Dragon Slayer, effectively ending their game of tug-of-war. Libra was the unfortunate target of the aquatic surge, sputtering and flailing as the current carried her to the wall and forced her to drop her scale once again. There was a moment of pause – Izumi and the Spirit King blinked awkwardly at the drenched gypsy. Out of natural curiosity, the pair followed the water trail back to its originator. You could imagine the look on Izumi's face when she found…
"Marina?" Exclaimed comically. The Dragon Slayers guardian nodded in confirmation, lowering her hands to dissolve the Magic Circle she had created. "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be back in Magnolia!"
"I got worried that you might be in trouble, so I hopped on the first train here." Marina explained, shooting an irritated look at the group. "And judging by the look of things, I hit the mark on this one. Honestly, can't you go one day without blowing something up?"
"Who are you supposed to be?" The Spirit King questioned interestingly.
"I'm that girl's guardian." Marina answered, cracking her knuckles in a threatening manner. "And if you know what's good for you, you'll run away with your cape between your legs."
"You think I'm scared of some girl's nanny." The Spirit King laughed.
"Master, wait a moment!" All eyes were on Libra, who seemed more frightened of the newcomer than her master. "Master, it would not be a wise decision to challenge her – she is very dangerous!"
"What are you talking about?" The Spirit King questioned.
"I've seen her before!" Libra stated urgently. "That woman is…"
"Augh!" The Spirit King screamed abruptly as he experienced a burning sensation on his wrist. With Libra's magic no longer in effect, Izumi had the freedom to move and made a quick grab for the thief's arm; her hand cover in a layer of black flames. "Let go of me, you little brat!"
The mysterious criminal kicked Izumi in the face, disorienting her long enough to pull back his arm. Though he had managed to escape the Black Dragon Slayer, he had inadvertently pissed off the rest of Team XL, who had also broken from Libra's spell. Marina summoned another storm of torrential water, Ur formed a bazooka made of ice, and Kane when directly with a devastating drop kick. If not for the Spirit King's swiftness, he would have been reduced to a stain on the floor. The masked thief slid close to the wall, looking over his options for this scenario. One man with weakling spirits against a Black Dragon Slayer, an Ice-Make wizard, an overprotective guardian, a transforming Exceed, and a man with superhuman strength. The prospects were not good.
As much as he hated the idea, the Spirit King realized he had no choice. Forcing Libra back through the spirit gate, the masked criminal leaped through the hole in the wall created by Taurus. Izumi and Kane were quick to jump after him, but by the time they were outside, the Spirit King had already vanished into the night.
"Damn it!" Kane shouted angrily, slamming him fists together to vent his rage. "He got away again!"
"Never mind that!" Ur called from inside. "Luke is still unconscious and a lot of the guests were injured in the panic! We need to get them medical attention immediately!"
"All right, all right." Kane grumbled.
While the Iron Fist of Fairy Tail trudged back inside, Izumi remained where she was, staring at the curtain of stars hanging above them. She thought about what the Spirit King said – how Celestial Spirits were nothing more than tools to be shaped and used according to the will of the user. And then her mind flashed briefly to Libra, crying from joy when she understood that she wasn't going to be punished. The Black Dragon Slayer clenched her fist until droplets of blood started to slip through her fingers. How could anyone call themselves Celestial Spirit Wizards with a mindset like that. Tools can't laugh, cry, smile the way Taurus, Scorpio, and Libra did. They were living creatures, damn it! The proof was right above their heads! But before Izumi could delve further into this internal debate, she felt a soft hand caress her shoulder. The Black Dragon Slayer slowly turned over to the sad expression on her guardian's face.
"Izumi, are you all right?" Marina asked with concern in her voice. When the foreign girl refused to answer, Marina kneeled closer to her level, forcing them to look at each other directly. "Izumi…are you hurt?"
"Why?" Izumi asked softly; she sniffed slightly. "Why do people treat spirits so badly, Marina. They're people like us, so why do people hurt them without considering their feelings?"
"As you already know…this isn't a perfect world." Marina sighed softly. "There are so people…who don't believe that spirits deserve to be treated fairly. Most of them just think that they are weapons to be used from missions and battles. They don't even care if the spirits get hurt because they are immortal. And it's not just Celestial Spirits either – humans tend to hurt each other for pleasure or profit. You would know that better than anyone."
"When Libra thought she was going to be punished…" Izumi murmured sadly. "She looked scared. My heart was hurting…because I wanted to protect her and I could do anything. I hate feeling like that."
"Oh, Izumi." Marina cooed, embracing her charge in a motherly fashion. "It just means that you have a good heart, just like your mother. Lucy loved all Celestial Spirits and would give her life to keep them safe. There was even a time when she yelled at the Celestial Spirit King to help Leo and she didn't back down even after the King threaten to destroy her."
"My mom was pretty cool." Izumi smiled.
"Yes…she was." Marina beamed, releasing the Dragon Slayer and patting her head. "Now let's get back inside. I'm sure there are a lot of people who could really use our help now."
Izumi nodded and allowed her guardian to take her hand before walking back to the ballroom. She hadn't held Marina's hand since she was nine years-old and she still felt safe around her. But she knew she couldn't rely on her Guardian to protect her forever. She needed to be stronger so that she could protect the people she cared about just like her mother, her father, Gray, and Master Erza. Taking one last look at the stars above, Izumi came to a decision. It was no longer about the reward, or pride, or restoring Fairy's Tails name.
This was about saving those Spirits.
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Seven-Fiore Translator
After a lot of thinking, I have chosen to emphasize the cultural differences between Seven and Fiore by incorporating another language through Izumi. I thought it would add to a more realistic approach since she is from another country and therefore add to her foreign character. Izumi is fluent in Fiore, but will occasionally fall back to her native language. Below are the translations used in this chapter.
Nečist = bastard, impure
Glup bogataški = stupid rich people.
Ruke k sebi!= Hands off!
Te izopačen krava! = You perverted cow!
Fairy Tail Guild Card
Name: Asuka Cornell
Age: 26
Magic: Gun Magic
Likes: Smoking, ammunition, Glace (?)
Dislikes: Bringing up the past, anyone taking away her smokes
Relatives: Alzack Connell (Father), Bisca Connell(Mother)
Description: Hailed throughout Fiore as Asuka "Bull's-Eye" Connell, she is revered as the sharpest shooter in the country for never missing a single shot. She gained an addiction for smoking when she was 13 after Wakaba left his cigar unattended and has been sneaking puffs ever since. She was previously engaged to Glace Echo, but backed out at the last minute.