Chapter 2
Freed Justine, a member of Laxus's Thunder God Tribe, watched as Elfman Strauss approached him, distaste evident on his face. How dare Elfman try to appear before him once again? He had already lost to Evergreen, to come back for more was against Freed's rules. Not only that, but Cana Alberona, a mage far stronger than Elfman, and Juvia Lockser, formerly one of the strongest mages in Phantom Lord, had just lost handedly to the Rune User. They had put up some fight, Freed noted glancing at the women, who was currently on the ground with Mirajane hovering above them. He disregarded the fact that Mira was there, she could be taken down easily, and she couldn't use her magic anymore. He gripped his rapier's hilt tightly, flicking a bit of his long green hair out of his face.
"Get ready, Freed! I'm going to take you down! A true man would never use such disgusting tactics as you!" Elfman roared, activating his Beast Soul magic, transforming his right arm into that of a monster. "Man!"
Freed scoffed as Elfman raced towards him. "Do you truly think you can prevail with those injuries? You lost to Evergreen, you have no chance against me," he stated.
"A man never backs down!" Elfman replied angrily, swinging his fist at Freed.
Freed leaned to the side, avoiding the punch, before leaping to the side to dodge the follow up kick from a similarly beast-enhanced leg. The buffoon had no chance, and Freed had to follow through with the rules of the game. So...he had to finish Elfman, for good this time. He hated it. He hated these thoughts he was having...but, they were Laxus' orders.
"I'm sorry about this," Freed muttered as Elfman charged towards him again, though he wasn't sure whether he was apologizing to Elfman, or himself. "Dark Écriture: Pain!" Freed swung his blade and a wave of runes appeared and attached to Elfman. The effect was instantaneous, Elfman stopped his charge and fell to the ground, screaming in pain.
"I'm not done! Dark Écriture: Fear!" more screams from the downed Elfman, but Freed didn't stop. He wanted the anger and pity he felt for the man to leave his system.
"Dark Écriture: Suffering!" Elfman stopped screaming, and simply lay on the ground, practically in a coma.
Freed sighed as he walked over to where Elfman lay. "Perhaps it would have been better to just kill you, I can't stand the sight of you. You can't withstand this level of torture, and you thought you had the right to challenge me? Pathetic." he judged, casting another Dark Écriture: Pain, causing Elfman's body to shudder before falling completely still.
"Two down, one more to-"
Freed almost jumped out of his skin from what he felt. He couldn't see it, but he felt a foul magical power, almost right behind him. He slowly turned around, his fear showing as he turned to take in the sight behind him. It was Mira.
He had planned to deal with her quickly and peacefully, she wasn't a threat. After her little sister's death, she turned into a sweet and kind girl who couldn't hurt a fly. But this wasn't that Mirajane. He could see the giant magic circle above her, feel the sheer magic power emitting from her body, which was starting to resemble the magic he was sensing.
Mirajane slowly rose to her feet, her appearance taking on a darker turn. "Demonic Take Over: Satan Soul." she muttered, a dark purple magic circle appearing before her.
Freed was able to sum of this whole situation in two words: "Oh...crap."
Mira leapt forward, swinging her now scaled fist at Freed. Freed dodged, Mira's attack smashing into the ground he had been standing on, eyes widening as he saw the large crater created by the attack.
"Dark Écriture: Wings!" Freed casted, creating wings made of runes on his back, and leapt into the air to escape her. To his shock, Mira shot off after him, releasing her wings.
She had wings too? This wasn't good. It had barely been ten seconds since Mira activated Satan Soul, and he was already on the defensive. Freed dodged two more of Mira's attacks, only to get knocked back by a kick. Freed tried to recover, but Mira appeared right above him, slamming her fist into him, knocking him all the way back down to the ground. Freed popped back to his feet, and quickly flew off, trying to escape the woman turned demon. To his shock and horror, Mira appeared right behind him, throwing another punch to his face, sending him flying...for the third time in 15 seconds.
'She's gotten this strong? I knew she was S-ranked before the accident, but still...'
Freed looked on in shock as a dark purple magic circle appeared in front of Mira. "Darkness Stream!" she shouted, waves of dark purple energy shooting out of the circle, forming into clawed hands. Freed shot off, dodging as many as he could. "Dark Écriture: Pa-" Freed was cut off by Mira kneeing him in the stomach, throwing him towards the wastelands near Magnolia. He recovered, and began flying as quickly as he could.
"I have no choice..." Freed decided. "I'll have to use the forbidden technique..." he stopped, watching as Mirajane approached him. "You need a demon to defeat a demon! Dark Écriture: Darkness!" a circle of runes surrounded him, and Freed shouted as he felt his body shift, felt himself becoming stronger. His transformation completed, revealing his demonic form. Freed smirked, and countered one of Mira's punches with his own. "Time to turn the tables."
The two humans turned demons surrounded their fists in the respective dark magics, and began hand to hand combat. Much to Freed's surprise, he discovered that Mira somehow still had the upper hand! She grabbed his wrist after dodging one of his punches and threw him into a cave. As Freed tried to recover, Mira appeared before him, placing a hand on his chest.
"Evil Spark!" she casted, dark purple lightning erupting from her hand.
Freed screamed as he crashed into the ground, waves of pain spreading through his body.
"H-how is this possible?! Her magic power is still so strong after all of these years! This can't...this can't be the same Mirajane!" he muttered in shock, watching Mira float down from above to hover before him, an evil looking smirk on her face. "However...however...I cannot lose!" Freed shouted, his dark magic erupting out of his body, and a dark red magic circle appeared in front of him. "Darkness Breath!" A blast of dark magic shot from the circle, shooting Mirajane out of the cave. To Freed's shock, the attack did nearly no damage. He gritted his teeth and shot after her. "Darkness Flare Bomb!" he cried, a dark red orb appearing in his hands, which he slammed into Mira, knocking her into the only lake in the wastelands.
Freed sighed in relief. "Did I get her?" he started in shock as a whirlpool appeared in the water below him. "What is that?!" Mirajane's body slowly became visible, as it was revealed that the whirlpool was the cause of her magic power. "Evil Explosion!" she casted, sending a combination blast of the water and dark magic at Freed, throwing him back. As Freed recovered, Mirajane appeared before him, a dark orb crackling with energy in her hands. "Soul Extinction!" she shouted, sending an enormous blast of dark magic at Freed.
"No...NOOO!" Freed shouted as the blast connected with him. His demon form and wings started to fade, realizing in shock that the attack had wiped out his magic power. He fell to the ground, defeated, where the battle had started, near Magnolia's river. Mira appeared before him once more, and Freed felt fear start to spread through his body.
'I...I can't win! I can't beat her!' he thought desperately as she tackled him, raising a fist enveloped in dark energy to finish him. 'If that hits...I'm dead,' he realized, closing his eyes and waiting for the end.
It never came. Freed opened his eyes to see Mira's fist barely an inch from his face, shaking for some unknown reason. Freed watched in shock as Mira got off of him and reverted back to her human form.
"Wh-What are you going to do?" Freed asked uncertainly.
Mirajane was silent for a moment, "There's no point to this battle," she whispered.
Freed's eyes narrowed, "Arrogance of the victor, Mirajane? Finish me off!" he begged. "If you finish me, I will have fulfilled my promise to Laxus, and you can pay me back for all the damage I've done! Kill me!"
Her response shocked Freed. "We're comrades. Members of the same guild. We smile together, laugh together, and move forward...together," the white haired woman said softly.
"Shut up!" Freed shouted. "My only ally is Laxus!"
"You don't really believe that, do you? He's not the only one, right? You've already realized this, Freed," she quietly rebuked, glancing over her shoulder to where Elfman, Cana, and Juvia were watching silently. "Although I don't believe that relying on one person only is completely bad, there are plenty of people around you, and they are all connected...to each other, and to you," Mirajane said, smiling, tears in her eyes, grabbing Freed's hand. "See? If you reach out your hand, they're so close. When people realize that it's lonely being alone, they become kind. And you've realized that."
Freed felt tears build up in his eyes. He quickly hid them behind his arm, trying to quell the tears. He couldn't hide the truth any longer. "I didn't..." he sobbed. "I didn't want to do this!"
He heard Mira make a sound of affirmation. "We know, and we understand. Let's all enjoy next year's Fantasia together, ok?"
Freed nodded, sitting up and waving his hand. All around Magnolia, the rune scoreboards would display Mirajane and Freed: Both remove themselves from contention.
Inside the Fairy Tail guildhall, Levy was looking at the rune timer that was counting down the minutes until the Thunder Palace activated. "Only ten minutes left...is Laxus really serious?" she muttered worriedly. She then started pacing around the guildhall. "But…it should work out, right? We still have Erza and Natsu, and Gajeel's out there too! And apparently Mystogan is here too! We've got this!" she rambled, even though she was talking to herself, when a sudden noise stopped her. She turned to the door to see an elderly woman with pink hair wearing a red cloak walk through. Levy knew her on sight.
"Where is the old fool?" the woman asked.
"P-Porlyusica-san! What are you doing here?" Levy asked.
Porlyusica frowned. "I asked you where he was."
"Oh, Master is in the inside clinic!" Levy replied, pointing her in the right direction, before realizing something. "Wait, did you come to treat him?" she asked. Porlyusica didn't respond, and just continued walking to the clinic, Levy following her. The two of them walked to Makarov's bedside. They were silent for a few moments, before Porlyusica finally spoke. "Bring Laxus here," she ordered, much to Levy's surprise. "Bring that fool of a boy who's playing around while his grandfather lies gravely ill."
"Gravely ill? You can't be serious, right?" Levy asked uncertainly.
"Just bring him...please," Porlyusica begged, before turning to face her and saying something that shocked and horrified Levy to the core. "He doesn't have much time left."
Levy's eyes widened. Her mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out. She stood there for a few more moments, before turning around and racing out of the guildhall. Porlyusica stared after her for a few seconds, before hearing an odd noise behind her. She whipped around to see a cloaked figure sitting on the windowsill above Makarov's bed, holding a staff that's head was currently glowing with a green light that Porlyusica recognized as healing magic.
"Who are you, and why are you helping him?" Porlyusica demanded.
"It's only natural that a guild member would want to help his master, no?" the figure replied, removing his hood. "It's been a while, Porlyusica-san."
Porlyusica's eyes widened. "Tristan Saelma? Is that you?" she asked.
"Indeed," Tristan replied quietly, focusing most of his attention on Makarov.
"How are you healing him? Your magic is made for anything but healing," Porlyusica said.
"It's the staff. It's called Fortify, I...found it on my mission," he said.
"Saelma, I presume you know what's going on here?" Porlyusica asked.
"I've got the gist. Laxus and his Thunder Tribe are a bunch of jerks, trying to take over the guild and apparently destroy Magnolia with the Thunder Palace, Laxus is the only one left, but for some odd reason, the only ones after him are Natsu, Erza, and Mystogan. That about right?"
"Yes. But here's a good question, why aren't you after him?" Porlyusica asked angrily.
"I wanted to see the master first. But I came here and found him like this...well, I have to help him," Tristan muttered quietly.
"Good to see you are still loyal after what happened," Porlyusica snapped, causing Tristan to flinch as if he had been struck.
"Porlyusica-san, please don't bring that up," he requested, a note of pleading in his voice.
"Very well," she said, sitting on one of the beds opposite of Makarov. "Should I just leave this to you?"
"No, please stay. I'm not the most experienced healer, and he's going to need your help especially."
"Understood."
Laxus sat on the steps of Kardia Cathedral, fuming. "Dammit Freed! How could you lose? Better yet, how did Mirajane get her magic power back?" he slammed his fist into the step, lightning crackling around him. "It doesn't matter. The time is ripe. Soon, I'll have my guild...Jiji...I will surpass you!" he stood, pacing over to the rune timer Freed had set up. "Only six minutes remain until the Thunder Palace activates...will he not step down? The stubborn old fool." he smirked, hearing footsteps behind him. "So, you're finally here, are you? Mystogan?" he said turning around, seeing the blue cloaked and masked, staff wielding member of Fairy Tail. "I didn't think you would be participating in this game!" Laxus laughed.
"If you call off the Thunder Palace right now, it is still possible to pass of...this, as mere entertainment," Mystogan said, his voice muffled by his mask.
"My, my, how ignorant. Haven't you heard the rumors guessing who is the strongest in Fairy Tail, you or me?" Laxus asked, brushing off Mystogan's threat.
"Not that I care, but aren't you forgetting Erza and Tristan? And more glaringly, Gildarts?" Mystogan shot back.
"Ha! You think that Gildarts is ever gonna come back? Don't make me laugh. Tristan...well, that has some merit, but he's been gone for more than a year and a half now, so that's no good. And Erza? Not a chance. She has some potential, but she is still weak." Laxus replied.
Mystogan let out a bark of laughter, "Erza, weak? Are you truly that blind?" the masked mage asked rhetorically.
"Hey, come on buddy! I'm saying that I recognize your skills, I'm complimenting you! However...I wonder which one of us is truly stronger?"
"If that is as far as your eyes can see, I wonder who is so ignorant," Mystogan muttered, his mask slipping slightly as he tilted his head, revealing a small slip of blue hair.
"Let's settle this, time to decide who's strongest!" Laxus said, an evil smirk appearing on his face. "Mystogan...or rather...another-"
Laxus was cut off when Mystogan drew when of his staves, and swung it forward, sending a purple blast of magic at Laxus, who countered with a blast of lightning. The two attacks cancelled out, creating an explosion that destroyed many of the cathedrals windows, leaving the two mages standing there, ready for battle.
"Where did you learn about that?" Mystogan demanded.
"Wouldn't you like to know? Maybe you can find out if you beat me!" Laxus replied, smirking.
Mystogan sighed. "You will regret this, Laxus," he intoned, reaching for the remaining four staves on his back. "You will now witness magic you have never seen before."
"Oh my, how scary!" Laxus mocked. "Give me your best! I'll show you just how much stronger I am!"
Mystogan slammed his staves into the ground, creating a semicircle around him, purple energy connecting the staves. "Tower of Babel," he casted, a purple magic circle appearing before him. The ground below Laxus exploded out of nowhere, sending him flying into the air, and much to the Lightning Mage's shock, the entire cathedral exploded. "Seriously, the whole cathedral?!" A pillar of white light appeared from where the cathedral had been, and enveloped Laxus. Suddenly, Laxus was floating in a blank space. To his left, a tear began to appear, two monstrous hands seemingly ripping through space. Before Laxus could react, he was bound in place by tendrils made of shadows. The tear in space got larger, as an enormous monster appeared before Laxus. "What kind of magic is this?!" he shouted frantically, trying to escape. Laxus eyes widened, before he gave a huge smile, lighting erupting around his body. Suddenly, Laxus was back where he had been, in a completely whole Kardia Cathedral, standing before Mystogan.
"Nice try! Did you actually think this illusion would work on me, Mystogan?!" he demanded.
"Impressive," the masked wizard replied. "However..." a three layered magic circle on either side of Laxus.
"What?" Laxus cried.
"Three Layered Magic Circle: Serpent's Eyes!" Mystogan muttered, the circles activating.
"What the - I can't move!" Laxus realized.
"Too late," Mystogan decreed, a purple beam of light appearing below Laxus, and five magic circles appearing in the beam. "Five Layered Magic Circle: Sacred Song."
Laxus smiled wickedly. "Just who is too late, huh?" he shouted, a large magic circle appearing below Mystogan.
"Crap!" the stave wielder shouted, as Laxus was enveloped in purple light and lighting erupted below Mystogan, both struggling to take the other's attack. The attacks exploded, revealing both fighters mostly unharmed.
Mystogan leapt into the air, using his air magic to levitate. A purple magic circle appeared before him, and tendrils of purple energy appeared from below Laxus, rising to attack him. Laxus quickly reverted to his Lightning Form, slipping out before the attack could hit. He reappeared below Mystogan, creating a cage out of lighting that began to crackle with energy. Mystogan's eyes widened as the cage exploded. Much to Laxus' surprise Mystogan appeared before him, only slightly damaged.
"Mist Form, huh? You aren't bad, Mystogan!" Laxus decided, grinning broadly.
"LAXUS!" twin shouts came from the entrance to the cathedral. The two combatants turned to see Natsu and Erza standing there, glaring at the Lightning Mage. The two of them realized there was someone else in the room, and turned their attention to him.
"Alright so who's that?" Natsu asked.
"Mystogan?" Erza muttered.
Mystogan immediately turned away from the two newcomers, trying to hide his face.
"Your guard is wide open!" Laxus shouted, throwing off a blast of lightning. It struck Mystogan directly in the face, destroying his hood and mask, revealing a shock of blue hair, much to the surprise of Erza and Natsu. Mystogan turned towards them, revealing his face.
"J-Jellal?!" Erza cried in shock.
"Wait...what?!" Natsu asked in shock, narrowing his eyes.
"Jellal..." Erza said again, taking in his familiar features. Brown eyes, blue hair, red colored tattoo near his right eye, he looked exactly like him! "You're alive? But how?" Jellal had, after all, recently died in the Tower of Heaven incident.
Laxus laughed, "Oh, a familiar face?"
"Oi, speak up! Are you Mystogan or Jellal?" Natsu demanded, his fists catching on fire.
Mystogan - or was it Jellal? - was silent for a few moments before speaking. "Erza, I especially didn't want you to see," he said, much to the Reequip mages surprise. "I am not Jellal. I know of him, but I am not him. I apologize. I leave the rest to you." the stave wielder muttered, disappearing into mist.
"Wait!" Natsu shouted, just a little too late. He slouched, the flames on his fists disappearing. "Man, now I'm all confused, but I'll deal with that later. Laxus, I came here to take you down!" Natsu shouted, before turning to Erza. "You'll let me take him, right Erza?" he asked.
To Natsu's surprise, he didn't get a response. He realized that Erza was in a state of shock, probably from Mystogan's appearance. "Erza!" he yelled again, trying to get her attention. Suddenly, a stream of lightning hit her, making her scream in pain.
"Come on, pay attention, Erza! Come at me!" Laxus shouted, the lightning creating a single blast, knocking Erza to the ground
"LAXUS!" Natsu shouted. "Your fight is with me!"
"Oh, you were here, Natsu?" the Lightning mage mocked, pretending to just notice Natsu. Natsu stood there for a couple of seconds, shell-shocked. He then refocused, his fists reigniting. "I wouldn't underestimate me!"
Laxus smirked, removing his black overcoat and lacrima headphones. Natsu leapt at him, swinging his flame coated fist. Laxus leapt to the side, easily dodging the straightforward attack. "You know, you really should plan this stuff out! This is what makes you so annoying!" Laxus yelled as Natsu charged at him. "Get lost, small fry!" Makarov's grandson shouted, lightning shooting from his body. Natsu leapt over the attack, and launched himself at Laxus. "Fire Dragon's Talons!" he yelled, striking Laxus with a flaming foot, which Laxus blocked, using his strength to knock Natsu back. Natsu landed, and immediately flew back on the offensive, this time leading with a flaming elbow. Laxus dodged Natsu's elbow strike, retaliating with a lightning covered kick, stunning Natsu long enough for Laxus to grab him. "You aren't going anywhere!" Laxus said, slamming a lightning covered fist into Natsu's head repeatedly, before sending him flying with a vicious knee to the stomach, sending Natsu into one of the pillars supporting Kardia Cathedral. Natsu stumbled his feet, only for Erza to knock him over again.
"Erza..." Laxus muttered in anticipation.
'I must forget about Jellal...I mean, Mystogan for the moment. Right now, it's Laxus who needs my attention,' Erza decided, activating her Reequip magic. "Reequip: Black Wing Armor!" Erza cast, her Black Wing armor appearing. She launched forward, swinging her sword at Laxus's side, who countered with a fist covered in lightning. "What are those lacrima in the sky, Laxus?" she demanded.
Laxus smirked. "Don't you know? It's the Thunder Palace," he said, dodging another one of Erza's strikes before grabbing her foot as she tried to kick him.
"How dare you! You seriously intend to destroy Magnolia too?" Erza asked.
"It's a new rule!" Laxus laughed, "Although, it really does pain my heart," he said in a mocking voice.
"Natsu, destroy them!" Erza ordered, breaking Laxus' grip on her and leaping away.
"I can't! Or rather, I can, but I'll get taken down too!" the Fire Dragon Slayer responded angrily.
"Body Link Magic?" Erza analyzed.
"Correct! Nobody can touch those lacrima! And even if they could, they would be down for the count!" Laxus said.
"Coward!" Erza shot back.
Laxus' eyes narrowed, and he shot a blast of lightning at Erza. She leapt away, activating her magic once more. "Reequip: Lightning Empress Armor!"
"Oh? The Lightning Empress armor? Do you seriously think that will protect you from my lighting?!" Laxus shouted, sending a powerful bolt at Erza, who leapt to avoid it.
"It isn't just about defense, Laxus!" she shot back, sending a lightning bolt of her own from her spear. Laxus blocked it, and quickly reverted to lightning to avoid a second attack. As Erza landed, Laxus began to charge lightning in his palm, a yellow magic circle appearing before him. "Just try and block this, Erza!" he shouted. Erza quickly activated one of her armor's defenses, a shield made of pale blue lightning appearing before her. "Twin Bolts!" Laxus cast, two powerful lightning bolts shooting from the magic circle and colliding with Erza's shield.
"Not bad, Erza," Laxus admitted begrudgingly, seeing the scarlet haired woman unharmed.
"When two wizards of the same type clash, the factors that determine the outcome are..." Erza began to say.
"Whoever has the highest magic power, as well as experience and technique," Laxus finished, rolling his eyes. "I've heard it all before, I don't need you to lecture me!"
"You forgot the heart, the most important factor! You should have learned that from the master!" Erza rebuked.
"Oh, I learned alright. I learned that power is what really matters!" Laxus said, a smirk on his face.
Erza gritted her teeth. "You dare…"
"Erza, stop getting all revved up!" Natsu shouted from behind her, getting Erza's attention. "I told you, I was going to beat Laxus!" he pressed.
Erza turned to face him, regarding him for a few moments, before nodding. "Very well. I guess I'll believe in you then," she said, before running towards the cathedral's entrance.
"Hey, where are you going?" Natsu shouted after her, stopping Erza at the doorway. "You aren't going to destroy the Thunder Palace, are you?"
Laxus let out a laugh. "You don't have a chance! There are countless lacrima up there, and even if you could destroy them all at once, you would die as well!" he said.
Erza turned and smiled at him. "But the city would be saved," she said, before racing out the door.
"Erza! I'll believe in you too! Not about whether you can or cannot destroy those lacrima...but to believe you will come back safe!" Natsu shouted after her.
Laxus' eyes widened. He knew Erza was strong, and willing to risk her life for the guild. He knew she would go through with her plan to destroy them all, and Laxus couldn't afford that. "Dammit!" he shouted, racing after her.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!" a blast of fire shot from Natsu's mouth, colliding with Laxus and knocking him back. "I'm going to be the one to defeat you, Laxus!" Natsu decreed.
Laxus' face twisted into an expression of utter anger and hate. "You little brat...I'll crush you!" he roared, lightning crackling around his body.
"Bring it!" Natsu retorted, flames erupting from his fists. "I'm just getting warmed up after all!"
Author's Note
And end Chapter 2! Man that took a while to write! Just so you know, while all techniques will be in bold like this: Fire Dragon's Iron Fist, I will create a list of techniques in the author's note only for techniques I personally came up with.
Until next time,
DarkSwordsman1099, signing off for now.
Technique List:
Fortify: A healing staff Tristan posses, apparently quite powerful
Three Layered Magic Circle: Serpent's Eyes: Mystogan creates two sets of three layered magic circles, which together paralyze an opponent. However, if one of the circles is destroyed, the technique will not work.
Twin Bolts: Laxus shoots two equally powerful bolts of lighting at a target. Fun fact, they're kinda like homing missiles, but they're...homing...lightning bolts...yeah
