Chapter 9 : Answers
" Hi?" Tenebre said, the cheeky smile on her face mirroring those that were on Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Erza and Wendy's faces.
" Angel and Demon magic?! I've never heard of such magic!" Romeo exclaimed.
" And Lucy's older sister?! " Bisca said, eyes wide in shock.
" Lucy! You didn't mention anything about a black haired beauty as your sister!" Macao said, openly gaping and ogling at Tenebre's body.
Lucy giggled and said,
" Trust me, i was just as surprised as you are when i found out as well, my mom adopted her, so she's sorta my half sister."
" Ahh..." The whole guild echoed in unison.
Makrov then hopped onto the bar table and raise his mug high, dark brown ale sloshing out from the side as he jerked it in the air shouting,
" This calls for a celebration!"
The whole guild roared back in response, and pretty soon, barrels were emptied, people were brawling, both objects and people flew from one end to the other, in short, everyone was having a good time.
Sitting on one corner of the bar was Tenebre, sipping on a glass of red wine with her eyes closed while dodging a few flying projectiles every now and then, absorbing the whole lively atmosphere of Fairy Tail.
" Here you go!" Mira chirped, passing a mug of beer to Macao.
" Thanks Mira!" He said, chugging it down in a gulp and slammed it down onto the table, he swiped the froth from his stache and jumped into the human pile of tangled limbs.
Smiling, she retrieved his mug and walked back to the bar counter, only then did she realise Tenebre sitting on her own.
" Lissana, take over my position for awhile." Mirajane passed her tray to her sister.
Sensing a presence approaching her, Tenebre opened her eyes turned to find herself face to face with the famous white-haired demon of Fairy Tail, and seeing the knowing glint within her deep-blue eyes,Tenebre grinned, knowing that they'll get along just fine,
Stretching out a hand, Mira smiled and said,
" Nice to meet you Tenebre-san, I'm-"
" You're Mirajane Strauss, the famous Demon of Fairy Tail, Demon Take-Over mage." Tenebre cut her off, shaking her hand as Mirajane's eyebrow twitching up in surprise at the amount of information she knew," I've seen and heard a lot about you, and just Tenebre is enough, no need for the honorifics, it's a pleasure to meet you, Mira-san."
" Oh, you flatter me too much!" Mira swatted at her bashfully.
" So, Mira-san, what do you think about the denseness level in this guild? " Tenebre said with a small smirk on her lips.
" The level of their denseness is just so frustrating! And to watch is even more so! " Mira shook her head and sighed in exasperation while waving her hands dramatically,
Their eyes met, they clasped their hands together, Mira grinned at her and Tenebre grinned back,
" They need a little help don't you think, Tenebre?" Mira's grin turned dangerous.
" Yes indeed, and i think that we're perfect for the job, do you, Mira-san?" Tenebre's lips crept up into a smirk, her eyes glinting dangerously.
" This is going to be fun..." They said in sync, and then started to crackle in a low, evil laugh.
A chill went down every guild member's spine, as if sensing some kind of impending doom, and those sitting close to where Tenebre and Mira was quickly scrambled away from the both of them when they heard the both of them muttering words that was not in a human language when in fact, they were just planning out things for their first 'victims'.
A certain blond and pinkette felt a chill go down their spines.
Halfway through their conversation, Lisanna frantic voice shouted over to the pair, " Mira-nee, a little help here!"
Mira looked up at the huge wall clock and gasped, " Oh my, time passed by so quickly!"
Scooting off the bar stool, Mira patted her maroon dress down, and grabbed a serving tray from behind the counter, tossing her hair behind her as she glanced back at Tenebre, " We will continue this conversation another time," She insisted, " But i have to return to my duties now."
Just as she was about to walk away, she remembered something and snapped her fingers, " Ah, before i forget, you might want to drop by Master's office, i'd normally be the one to stamp the guild mark for our newcomers, but Master insisted on speaking with you before he does it personally."
Mira then tilted her head to the side in thought, " I wonder why though...?",she then shrugged it off and grabbed a couple jugs of ale and beer from the bar, " We'll talk later after everything's over! Coming!"
She hollered loudly with a charming smile, passing out the drinks.
Tenebre looked to side, and seeing Lucy being kept occupied with trying to keep Natsu away from Grey, she too got off the bar stool and walked stealthily to the concealed door beside the bar, standing there for a moment as she whispered almost wistfully to herself, "Makarov eh? I wonder how long has it been..."
She then faced the door, and in one smooth, swift motion, she kicked open the door, its metal hinges protesting nosily as the wood creaked and groaned from its violent treatment.
Makarov,who just so happen to be chugging down a mug of booze, spat it all out in shock, hacking noisily as some went down the wrong pipe.
" Ack! Who wha-?! " He then noticed Tenebre, who was grinning at him half sheepishly-cheekily and he growled,
" What is it with you and your entrances! Jeez, what's next?! A huge flash of light with you in the middle of it?! "
Tenebre chuckled as she closed the door behind her, whispering a few words that made the door glow a soft green, then turning to look at Master Makarov with a wide grin on her face,
" I've already done that before, Makarov, is your old age affecting your memories hmm?"
" Says the who's almost twenty thousand years old..." Makarov grumbled out, making Tenebre laugh out.
" Still so sensitive about your age Makarov? Oh Mavis!" Tenebre swiped off tears from her eyes as she continued to chuckle, pounding the air out of Makarov's lungs as she slapped his back repeatedly, his eyes bulging out with each impactful smack," And you actually remembered my age, looks like your memory ain't that bad old man!"
" Gah! Hey hey! Forgotten that you're stronger than a normal human?! Ya trying to kill me?!" He choked out, coughing a bit when she stopped pounding the life outta him.
"Oh Mavis, i'm so sorry, i guess the seals are not completed yet." Tenebre scratched the back of her head and grinned at Makarov sheepishly.
Makarov said, his eyebrows lifting in surprise,
" So that's why you look so different, you've sealed up your magic as well as your abilities, i could've sworn that your eyes were fully gold and your hair was black the last time i saw you."
Tenebre smiled,and said,
" Well, that's because i used too much of my father's magic that day, so you probably saw the more demonic part of me then, this is how i really look like."
" Ah, that day." Makarov glared at her disapprovingly, " Mavis, i swear, i don't even want to know how many heart attacks you've given Layla over the time you've known her."
" Why on Earthland do you always have to be in bad shape every single time you see her?!"
Flashback ( Normal POV )
"Ah, Layla! It's nice to see you again, how are you my friend?" Makarov took another swig at his booze and put his mug aside.
" Drinking in the afternoon again Makarov? That's not good for your health for someone your age you know?" Layla said, smiling teasingly as she took a seat in front of him. " And i'm fine, thank you."
" Says the person who's always getting miniature heart attacks from her adopted daughter." Makarov grumbled and dumped some of his paperwork onto the floor beside his table, Layla eyed his actions and giggled,
" Ever multiplying paperwork Makarov? My my, it seems like you and your guild have been very busy! Even busier than my husband i think." Layla tapped her chin, as if in thought.
" Is Jude still...?" Makarov said, his voice trailing off as he waved his hands around as if gesturing some kind of emotion, and Layla smiled wistfully,
" Well... Business is booming, i guess it's natural for him to be occupied in his work..." She said, but then Makarov cut her off,
" Too occupied in his work you mean. And from the looks of it, he's spending more time in his office rather than spending time with you, and your infant child. " He chided with narrowed eyes, " I doubt he even realizes that you're here and not at the mansion."
" That sounds like him alright." Layla then tilted her head to the side as if sensing something, and grinned at Makarov, whose body was tensed up and on high alert as if feeling the same presence,
" Relax Makarov! It's just another guest!"
As if on cue, a bright light filled the room just as a gate flung open its doors in the corner of the room, and out walked Tenebre,
" Heya Layla-"
Layla shot her a pointed look.
" - Ahem, i mean Mom."
Layla reached out to pat her head, " That's a good girl."
SPLAT!
Only then did they realize that Tenebre was dripping blood all over the floor.
Tenebre looked away sheepishly as Layla sighed, wiping her hands on her handkerchief, looking defeated as Makarov openly gaped at the amount of blood pooling at her feet and onto his office floor.
He continued to do do even when Layla hefted out a huge first-aid box from thin air and grabbed Tenebre by her breastplate, dumping her onto the chair she ust abandoned.
" You!" Layla chided, yanking at the bandage harshly with every other word she spat out, glaring hard at her as if she could dig out the answers out of her head with pure will itself, " What was it this time? An army of faeries? Sky diving into a pool of Gehennian lava? Or did you happen upon another nest of baby dragon hatchlings?"
Tenere just fidgets with her hair and mumbles,
" Well... None of the above actually. I just didn't pay attention to where i was flying, so i flew straight into one of the columns of the palace in Arcadia, and you know my history with them, so they started chasing and attacking me for 'soiling' their precious purity and they managed to land a few hits on me before i remembered that i could create a gate to escape, so...ya, that's what happened."
Both of them could see Layla's entire body tremble with barely suppressed rage as she resisted the urge to smack her head into another world of bloody.
" How.. On Earthland... Do you even forget you could create gates?! And what were you even doing in Arcadia?"
Tenebre scrambled to protect herself,
" Hey, i had official business there, i was even forced to use my father's magic against them, but no matter how much i dislike going to Arcadia and Gehenna, my history with them is second to my job as Gatekeeper."
"And you know what happens when i go there, although it has been a long time, i still have the trauma of them and of the place itself, so just talking and thinking about them gives me the chills." Tenebre said, her face shadowed as she rubbed her arms where her scars were, hidden from sight behind cold-hard metal.
Then, lifting up her head, she smiled, a small yet strong smile, but both of them knew what lies behind her mask, deep down in her metallic gold eyes, she hides her fear, as well all her hate and resentment, she then says.
" Let's put this aside and get back to the main topic shall we?"
She then crossed her arms, pouted childishly, and looked at Layla,
" Mom, i have to agree with Makarov, Jude is spending way too much time in his office! You should beat some sense into him, like what you always to me! It's unfair you know! You bully me but not him!"
That sentence made both Makarov and Layla smile, and soon laughter filled the room, the matter of Tenebre's past erased from their heads.
Flashback end, Makarov's office ( Normal POV )
Tenebre grinned and flopped onto one of the seats,
" But hey, at least i made a lasting impression on you right?"
Makarov continued to glare at her, " Yeah, by making it hard for me to wash off the blood from the floor after you left."
" Well, it's an occupational hazard, awesome Gatekeeper powers with the price of getting beaten up every time something crops up! And i chose to accept this job when it was offered to me, so i guess i sorta had this coming for me." She lifted her legs and propped them up on his table, crossing them as she leaned back onto her chair.
" And i can never get used to the fact that you treat injuries like a normal occurrence and pain to you is nothing but ants crawling up your arm." Makarov slumped back onto his chair and shook his head,
"Well, putting that aside, regarding your seals, how many layers did you have you created?" He said, taking another chug from his mug, then continuing, " I believe you should have no problem telling me that, since you've already put up a sound barrier around my office, i shall assume that you have things that you wish to discuss with me, am i wrong to say that?"
Tenebre let her feet fall back onto the ground, leaning forward as she says,
" Well! Looks like your senses are still sharp despite your age! But you're not wrong, in fact, you're spot on. "
She then listed,
" I have a total of 10 seals, 5 for my powers as and Angel and the other 5 for the Demon side, all 10 for my physical and magical traits, and it's somewhere around 87% complete right now, and i guess you should know full well why i have these seals."
Makarov nodded, staring pointedly at her, " So you won't whack the air outta everyone you see, that's one, and so that you would not accidentally kill people when you use your power, that's two... And finally..."
Both their faces turned grim when he said the next few words,
"So that they wouldn't find that so easily."
Tenebre nodded, standing up, she walked towards the window,
" Yes, but you're missing something, and that is the reason why i'm here now."
She turned around, the light from outside the window shadowing her features, her silver eyes glowing from her shadowed face,
" Lucy's seals are cracking."
Makarov spat out his drink, " What?!"
" I know! Layla used her last breath to make that seal, but obviously the Oculos Divae's power has grown to the point Layla's seal can no longer hold it back." Tenebre gritted her teeth, clenching her fists till her knuckles turned white and blood seeped through her fingers, dripping onto the floor.
Makarov slammed his hands on his table, making everything jump as he shot up,
" Then there's no time to lose, we have to reinforce the seal immediately! If not-"
" Have you forgotten what's the price for invoking a seal of such magnitude? Why do you think Layla only did before she died?" Tenebre snapped back with just as much ferocity, she the took a deep breath and said with more restrain, but with some uncertainty in her voice.
" I do have a theory though..."
Makarov waved his hands at her with urgency, " Then spit it out!"
" I might be able to pull it off, i'm immortal afterall, but i don't know the exact procedure and it's an especially delicate procedure, one small move can put Lucy's life in complete jeopardy." Tenebre explained, with much discomfort, " That is why i came here for and this is where you come in."
" I need your help and maybe your guild's too. I need you to find out it's exact procedure, and it's pros and cons, and maybe alternative seals that might do the same job..." Tenebre ranted on, while Makarov made mental notes to himself as she ranted,
"...So, that's about it, can you help me with those Makarov?"
Makarov immediately agreed, a picture of a blue-haired girl with a yellow bandanna flashed in his head, showing a thumbs up as he grinned,
" I think i have the person for the job."
" Levy Mcgarden right? " Tenebre said, as if reading his thoughts, her eyes glinting mischievously from within the shadows, Makarov saw that glint and exclaimed,
"So you were watching us all this while! I could've sworn i sensed your presence every now and then, but it was gone before i realized it, so i just thought it was my imagination." He slumped back into his seat with a smug smile, pointing at her accusingly " So it was you , well, you can be more powerful than me when you want to be, so it's no surprise that i couldn't sense you."
He then snapped his fingers to turn on the lights, the light from the setting sun proving too dim to even look at her cheeky grinning face,
" I guess you caught me!" She winked and hopped down from the window sill and back onto her chair with a rather unnecessary flourish.
Makarov then reached down and pulled out a stamp from below his table while shaking his head disbelievingly, " Another crazy brat joining the family, oh the joy..."
His eyes then twitched uncomfortably, " All the paperwork, damages...", he wailed despairingly.
Tenebre patted his back, " No worries Makarov, i'll try to not get into too much trouble."
He seemed to wail even louder at this.
When he finally calmed down a tad, he sniffed, " So where do you want it?"
She pulled back the ends of her yukata and revealed her upper thigh,
" Stop staring,you perverted old man." Tenebre smacked Makarov when he made a perverted face, and pointed at her thigh, " I want it here, in black, the darkest shade you have."
Wiping the stream of blood from his nose at the sight of Tenebre' well toned legs, he pressed the stamp at the spot indicated and with a satisfying pop sound, a black Fairy Tail mark appeared on her upper right thigh, so dark, you could drown in it with just one look.
Letting the fabric fall back to its original position, Tenebre shot the pervy old man a dirty look and was about to undo the sound barrier when Makarov grabbed her shoulder andpulled her back.
" Wait, there's something else," Makarov said, Tenebre's eyebrows tilting up inquisitively in response," I believe you've already met a few of my children, my Dragon Slayer children."
" When you sealed yourself up, you closed all the gates, sending all back to their respective realms, with the exception of the Celestial Realm, but now that you're back, are you going to reopen the gates?" Makarov asked.
Tenebre seemed to ponder over this question, then she looked at Makarov and shook her head regretfully,
" I'm not sure about letting them all out of their realms now, it's been almost a decade since they've been locked up and i'm already mentally preparing myself for an extremely long lecture from Marie for doing things without consulting her," Tenebre rubbed the bak of her head, " I'm pretty sure she'll be holding a meeting straight after i return to the Void, and whether or not your children would be meeting their parents would depend on this meeting"
She tapped her fingers on the table, " They'd be furious of course, Mephisto certainly will, i'm not so sure about Seraphim, The Dragon Council, Oberon and Titania though. And i believe this would be the first time the new king of Edolas would be attending this meeting, you know him don't you, this Mystogan guy."
Makarov nodded.
" But i don't think your children would be seeing their dragon parents anytime soon." Tenebre bowed low to Makarov, " I'm sorry."
Makarov seem to deflate at this piece of news, "Well, say hi to Marie for me when you meet her then."
At that time, someone knocked on the office door, and just as Tenebre quickly undid the sound barrier, Mira creaked the door open and peeped in,
" Am i interrupting something?"
Makarov waved his hand, " Nope, we just finished."
At that piece of news, Mira beamed brightly, " Oh good!" and strutted in, dumping a while pile of papers onto his desk, " Cause a new batch just arrived!"
Makarov paled at the sight of all the paper work, and wailed loudly," WHY MAVIS?!"
Giggling, Mira tugged at Tenebre's sleeve, whispering, " I think you should get going before he asks you to do his paperwork."
The moment the word ' paperwork' was mentioned, Tenebre made a hasty retreat out the door and into the rowdy guild hall with Mira in tow, leaving Makarov to his misery.
Closing the door behind them, silence enveloped Makarov's office, and finally resigning to his fate, he sighed and took one last gulp at his mug and put it down with a soft thump.
" Looks like Fairy Tail would be getting busy again..."
" Oi Tenebre! Where ye been?" Natsu shouted out from across the the hall just as a fist came flying from the side and he when flying straight under where Erza was bringing her foot down,the said person grabbing poor Elfman by his collar for smashing her cake.
" No where, just talking with the old man and getting my Fairy Tail mark." She lifted her yukata and showed off her new tattoo then letting the fabric fall back to its original position.
" Welcome to Fairy Tail, Tenebre!" Lisanna came up behind her grinning, hopping exitedly, "Welcome to the family! My name is Lisanna, i'm Mira-nee's little sister!"
" And i'm Levy! Lu-chan's best friend!" Levy popped out from behind Lisanna, " Do you like books?"
" Nice to meet the both of you, Levy-san and Lisanna-san." Tenebre said formally, earning a few giggles from them.
" No need for the hornorifics here Tenebre, we're all family here, all nakama! " Lucy said, popping up in front of Tenebre's face,
Tenebre smiled and was about to pull the three girls in front of her into a bone crushing hug when an unidentified blob of black flew past them, smashed into the wall, and growled.
" Oi! Salamander! You're gonna get it from me!" Gajeel shot off using the wall to propell himself, his iron fist colliding with Gray's face with a resounding smack.
" Opps,you missed!" Natsu held Gray in front of him, smirking.
" Why you-!" Gray twisted back and kicked Natsu in the gut, their struggle dragging a bunch of other guild members back into their fight.
Dodging a bunch of stools, broken table legs, tables, broken mugs and stuff, the girls quickly scuttled their way to their exclusive area by the bar counter, for an all girls initiation chat.
" Anyone caught your eye so far Tenebre?" Lisanna gushed, eyes twinkling.
Tenebre shook her head, " Nope, not yet."
The white haired mage pouted and folded her arms disapprovingly, " Come on, there must be at least one!"
" Nope." Tenebre shrugged her shoulders, " Sorry."
Sensing that Lisanna wouldn't be giving up anytime soon, Tenebre decided to shift the attention to someone else, nonchalantly leaning back onto the counter and looking the person opposite her,
" But i did overhear of a certain blue haired bookworm who has a thing for that guy that flew past us just now?" Tenebre said coolly, Levy turn into a shade of red that would've made a tomato proud,
" W-Wha?! I do not!" She shrieked out incredulously.
" Oh, just admit it Levy-chan!" Lucy said, waggling her eyebrows at her bestie suggestively.
" Not you too Lu-chan!" Levy moaned, hiding her face with her hands,
Lucy winked, " That's what are best friends are for!"
Hungry for revenge, Levy retorted,
" Oh yeah? Didn't you just admit to me the other day that you like Natsu?"
" LEVY! HOW COULD YOU?!"
Levy smirked and shrugged her shoulders, " All's fair in love and war, my friend."
" Oh my Mavis, you did what?!! " Lisanna and Mira squealed so loudly, the glass beside them cracked and the ears of the guild members nearby started to bleed.
" About time!" Erza folded her arm triumphantly, as if she knew about it from the very start.
" So how is he in bed?" Cana slurred, waggling her eyebrows suggestively at Lucy, who instantly turned red and started to steam.
She spluttered hotly, " We did no such thing!"
" I only just told Levy about my feelings for him..." She then muttered shyly, twiddling her thumbs while looking down with a tearful expression, " Natsu know nothing about it."
Bisca patted her back, giving her an encouraging smile," Stay strong, Lucy, no matter what, know that we'll always have your back."
Lucy sniffed, smiling brightly when she looked up at all the beaming faces smiling back at her, " Thanks girls!"
" But do know that i've first dibs on being Lu-chan's first child's godmother!" Levy quickly said, flinching back when Mira sent her a deadly glare.
" WHAAAAT?" The white haired barmaid groaned in a demonic voice, " That position is mine!"
" S-Scare me a-all you like Mira, but i ain't g-giving it up!" Levy stammered, using Erza as a shield.
" I call dibs on her second child!" Lisanna chirped brightly.
" How can you do this to me Lisanna!" , Mira snapped her head to look at her sister, gasping incredulously, " I want a Nalu child too!"
" Can you guys leave my kids out of this?!" Lucy shrieked, her face flaming, " And who says i'm having a kid with Natsu?!"
" So Tenebre," Bisca quickly cut in before the despairing blond gets embarrassed further, " Do you have a place to stay tonight?"
" Actually, now that i think about it, i don't." Tenebre said, blinking a few times, then shrugging her shoulders," Oh well, i guess i could camp out in the trees for tonight then."
" No you do not!" All the girls screeched in unison, making Tenebre flinch back and many other guild members retreating further from them before their ears gets damaged anymore.
" You can sleep at my dorm at Fairy Tails tonight," Erza offered, " I have plenty of room to spare anyway."
" She can stay at my dorm-" Levy was about to offer when she cut herself off, tapping her chin," Wait, where was my extra bedding again?"
Lucy shook her head and patted her back, " Probably buried under another pile of books."
" Oh."
" Why don't you stay together with me Tenebre?" Lucy then said, "I'm sure Mom would like that. And you've got a lot of explaining to do young lady!"
" Yes mom." Tenebre jested, mock bowing to her, " I shall take up your gracious offer then, mi'lady."
Lucy straightened her back and looked down snobbishly at her, " You may raise your head, peasant."
Not long after she said it, she burst out laughing and so did all the other girls.
" But first, one question," Lucy bounced on her seat, " It has really been bugging me how Serpe managed to summon a spirit when he was one himself, how's that possible?"
"Hmm," Tenebre hummed, " To put it simply, there are 12 zodiacs, both the Ecliptic and the Chinese, what you have now are the golden keys of the Ecliptic zodiac, and their leader is Leo aka Loke the Lion. But what i have are the bronze keys of the Chinese zodiac, i have all 12 of them and they have a different leadership system.
" Instead of just having just one leader, all 12 take turns to be the leader every year and being the leader has its privileges."
" First, their magic levels will increase tenfold, secondly, he or she can open their own gate at will and finally, they are able to call out their fellow zodiacs, using their own magic, of course. So when their owner's in a pinch, they can just call out their comrades in place of their master. So in their calender, it's the year of the snake this year, so Serpe's the leader this year."
Tenebre then looked at the astonished Lucy, " Anything else?"
Lucy nodded happily, " Yep, what is this ' Void' you've mentioned before?"
" The Void is simply the world between the worlds, basically it like the crossroads between the worlds. When you travel to another world, you pass through a gate to that world, but some happen to stray from the path during their journey from world to world, so they end up in the Void, and it's also my job to lead them back to their correct world. It also happens to be where my headquarters is-" before Tenebre could say anything else, Natsu crashed straight into their corner, effectively cutting her off.
" Eep!" Lucy squeaked when his head popped up in between her legs, sending him flying in Tenebre's direction with a swift kick, " What are you doing?!"
" Oh, hi Luce!" He simply said while grinning, it was only then he realised that Tenebre was directly behind him.
Shooting upright, he lighted his fist and shouted,"Tenebre, fight with me!"
" Oi Flamebrain! That's my line!" Gray skidded to a stop in front of Tenebre, " Oi Tenebre! I challenge you to a fight!"
" Urm, " Tenebre looked at Lucy, who gave her a resigned sigh, gesturing to her to ' go ahead', " Okay i guess?"
" Yosha!" Natsu punched his fist to the air.
" If that's the case, i think i'll join in as well. We have an open field out in the front, perfect place for a fight don't you think?" Erza said, somehow appearing at the guild's entrance and leaning near it, jerking her thumb behind her, "Take this as kind of an initiation, Tenebre."
" Fairy Tail style!" Cana hollered in continuation, and the entire guild roared in response, she then slammed her barrel down and slapped two cards on it, " So place your bets people!"
" Tenebre vs Natsu, Gray and Erza!"
Guild members clamored over to Cana, hands pushing their way forward as they placed their bets, chattering noisily as they did so,
" No way Tenebre's gonna win!"
" Come on, have a little faith would cha?"
" Go Team Natsu!"
" Isn't Lucy going to join?"
" Meh, she too smart for that!"
" Wow, thanks guys, i feel so motivated." Tenebre voice dripped with sarcasm, trudging out the guild hall.
A crowd already gathered outside at the open field, Cana somehow appearing outside, gleefully counting her money.
99% of the guild placed their bets on Natsu,Gray and Erza, and the remaining 1% consisting of Lucy, Levy, Mira and Lisanna betted on Tenebre.
" Oh ho! This is a first! Since when did ya all start betting? " Cana said, collecting the money from their outstretched hands.
" Since the guild is being mean and not supporting a new member." Lisanna huffed, crossing her arms in disappointment.
" Since i could use this as an opportunity to ask for more information from Tenebre." Levy said, eyes sparkling at the prospect of new knowledge.
" Since this would be a perfect opportunity to support my sis." Lucy said, then shouting,
" Ganbatte Tenebre! Don't waste my rent money!"
Mira giggled, " Ara ara! What a great sister you are Lucy."
" Go Tenebre!" Levy cheered, waving her arms in the air.
" Do they always take this way too seriously?" Tenebre questioned, tilting her head back to look at Lisanna, who nodded enthusiastically,
" Yep, so don't be afraid to go all out!"
Tenebre rubbed the back of her head, " If you say so then."
The moment she closed her eyes, an insane killer intent spilled forth from Tenebre's body, making everyone, except Master, flinch back in fright
Almost immediately, 15% of those who bet on Natsu, Gray and Erza changed their bets over to Tenebre.
"We believe in you Tenebre!" They shouted,
" Yosh,I'm all fired up!" Natsu yelled, grinning as he rolled his shoulders to loosen himself up.
" Let's get this started then!" Gray said, placing his hands together in his battle position.
" Agreed." Erza nodded, standing at attention.
Tenebre simply stood at her spot with her eyes still closed.
Mira raised her hands, "Ready..."
And slashed her hands down, "GO!"
Natsu and Gray shot off immediately.
" Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
" Ice-Make: Death Scythe!"
Tenebre stood at her spot, and whispered,
" Fight fire with fire, ice with ice."
Her eyes snapped open and she grabbed Natsu's flaming fist and Gray's scythe with her bare hands, her eyes flashing gold,
" Wha-!"
The sound and smell of burning flesh could be heard and smelt and blood started dripping from the hand that was clenching onto the scythe, but her face showed nothing, not even the slightest sign of pain could be seen, flexing the muscles on her hand as she clenched them, she extinguished Natsu's flame and broke Gray's scythe.
She looked at Natsu and Gray's baffled faces and breathed in and out, a puff of smoke and frost coming out of her mouth when she did.
She smirked.
FHWOOM!
In an instant, her entire body was enveloped in blue fire and ember-colored ice covered her hands,
The fire spread over to Natsu and the ice crawled its way up Gray's hands, she jerked them to her and whispered directly into their ears,
" Let's see how well you deal with your own element."
Pushing them, back, they started to scream,
" Holy Motha of-!" Gray cussed, hopping around as if he was on fire, "Why is this ice hot?!"
Natsu gagged, spitting out the icy blue flames, " Bleh! What is with these flames?!"
As soon as he said that, he started to turn blue and shivered, looking at his trembling hand incredulously, " How am i cold?"
" The Wraith's Flame and the Phoenix's Frost," Tenebre introduced, playing with the two elements with her hands. " The last time any Earthlander saw these babies was a couple centuries ago, the time where the old gods still roamed the land."
Narrowing her eyes, she extinguished the two orbs of fire and frost from her hand in one clench of her fist, and instantly the flames on Natsu increased flared up in intensity and the ice swivelled swiftly all over Gray's body, covering them entirely.
" Gah!" They yelped, patting/scratching at themselves in an futile attempt to rid themselves of it, but it only grew stronger.
Ignoring the two running around like a bunch of crazy maniacs, Tenebre turned her attention towards Erza, who was still in the same spot as she was when the fight started.
" Enjoying the show,Titania?" She asked, tilting her head to the side.
" You're not really going to kill them are you?" Erza circled Tenebre, eyeing her cautiously.
" Nope, just putting them through enough pain to make them pass out." Tenebre said dismissively, mirroring Erza's movements.
Then, upon some kind of silent cue, they both shouted in unison, and exploded in a blinding flash of light.
"REQUIP!"
Even before the light died down, they leaped at each other, and when they clashed, the light shrouding their bodies shattered into a million shards.
Erza in her Black Wing Armour, her two axes glinting dangerously as it clashed hilt against hilt with Tenebre's twin black and white long knives, her dark silver Valkyrie armor casting an almost ethereal light around her that's only being magnified by the moonlight.
Both of them jumped back at the same time, and disappeared,
"Where are they?!" Romeo shouted out, looking around for the two combatants.
A finger pointed up and Wendy said,
"There."
All heads tilted to look up, and the cheers increased in volume and intensity.
" This fight is awesome!" Romeo hollered, cheering enthusiastically like the rest of the guild.
Tenebre and Erza fought in the air, sparks flew every time their swords clashed, and those sparks were the only things the guild members could see as they were moving so fast, zipping across the sky like shooting stars.
" What on Earthland is happening right now?" Lucy said, her eyes darting around and struggling to keep up with the fight.
" I don't know, they're moving too fast!" Levy cried.
Meanwhile, Elfman dragged out the two drooling unconscious Natsu and Gray from the field, muttering, " They are not MANLY at all!"
Minutes passed, and just when they thought that the fight would never end, something red slammed down from the sky, creating a huge crater in the ground.
As Tenebre landed lightly back onto the ground, Erza broke forth from the rubble, and spat out some dirt,
"Ha...ha...you're not bad with your sword..." Erza panted, sweat rolling down her chin as she stabbed her sword into the ground for support.
" Same goes to you Erza, its a pleasure to fight with someone of your skill, though i'm sorry to say that i've been fighting with my skills 98% sealed." Tenebre grinned at the exhausted scarlet haired mage, swinging her knives around her effortlessly.
" This is only 2% of your power?!" Erza stood up immediately, suddenly feeling the energy returning to her body, she was furious of course, here she was going all out against this woman and there she was, not even breaking a sweat.
" The remaining 98%'s sealed up for the safety of those around me! Control isn't exactly my forte!" Tenebre quickly explained, noticing the flash of red that momentarily clouded Erza's eyes.
Taking a deep breadth, Erza calmed and steeled herself, staring seriously at Tenebre, the magical aura around her flared up, " But i think my nakama here are growing weary, shall we move on to the finale?"
" She still has so much magic left?" Tenebre thought to herself while grinning mentally, " As expected of the famous Titania of Fairy Tail, but i wonder what would happen if she does meet the real Titania?"
Bringing both her knives up, she bent her knees slightly and nodded," Let's."
Both putting their all into one last attack, the wind blew up violently around them as they both emitted an enormous amount of magic from their bodies, so strong, it took a physical form, black and white tendrils of pure magic formed around Tenebre and black and red surrounded Erza, the pure force of it all overwhelming some of the guild members to their knees.
Then, their eyes flashed as they let loose their last and most powerful attack,
" Black Wing : Moon flash!" Erza yelled, slicing the air twice and sending the cuts straight into Tenebre's direction.
" Discord!" Tenebre put both her knifes together in an X and slashed downwards, forcing the opposite elements of light and dark together and sent the huge unstable void of magic hurtling towards Erza.
VHOOM!
A humongous cloud of dust swept up when both their attacks, obscuring the guild member's view, all they could make out of were two silhouettes within the dust,and one collapsed onto the ground,
" So who won?" Warren asked, coughing out some dust he inhaled.
" I can't see anything!" Macao said,and Wakaba elbowed him,
" Cause you're too old to see anything!" He guffawed and was immediately caught in head lock with Macao,
" Who yer calling old ya old man!" Macao said,
" Old man who? You!" Wakaba retorted, things were about to get fired up till someone shouted,
" Hell yeah, Tenebre won!"
The guild's instant reaction.
Those who bet on Natsu,Gray and Erza went slacked jawed and stared wide eyed at the fallen warrior's body laying on the dust.
Those who bet on Tenebre threw their fists in the air, kissing their jewels, screaming, " Rent money for three months!"
Wait, that's only Lucy.
" I had fun Erza." Tenebre reached out to grab Erza's hand and pulled her upright.
" So did i," Erza winced at the many laceration on her body, allowing herself to be dragged along by Tenebre into the guild hall, with the celebrating/lamenting guild members trailing behind them like a parade.
Leading her to of the bench where Natsu and Gray was, she set Erza down there.
Erza took one glance at them, and cringed, " You sure did quite a number on them."
" You think?" Tenebre looked at the two drooling limp bodies on the table, prodding at them.
" Oh well, that aside, let's get ya all patched up."
Putting her right hand in front of her, a light blueish-green magic circle appeared above Erza, Natsu and Gray, showering them in a light rain of greenish-blue snow like fragments that melted into their skin the moment it came into contact with each other, healing them in just a few short minutes.
Natsu was the first to wake up, and being Natsu, fire spewed out from his mouth when he rose from the dead and groaned, he then snapped awake, and jumped up standing on the table, looking around,
" Where are ya Tenebre?! I'm gonna beat you so hard...!"
"I've already beaten you, have you forgotten it so fast?" Tenebre folded her arms grinning.
" Fight me again!" He spewed fire everywhere.
" Oi Lava Breath, must you be so loud?! " Gray groaned, sitting upright and cracking his neck.
" You've got a problem Stripper?!"
" With ya face, Pinky!"
" ICE PRICK!"
" HOT HEAD!"
" FROSTY!"
" DRAGON FREAK!"
" WHAT'D YOU CALL ME!"
They lunged at each other's throat, commencing the start of yet another guild brawl with Erza,Lucy and Cana joining in.
Some unfortunate soul flew onto Erza table and smashed her strawberry cake into smithereens, and screaming, " You murdered my cake!", she jumped into the fray,exacting revenge for her cake.
On the other hand, while Lucy was talking with Cana, someone crashed into their table, toppling Cana's barrel of wine and spilling it onto Lucy's skirt and they both screaming,
" That was expensive vintage!"
" This was new!"
They too jumped into the fight.
Rather puzzled at how fast things escalated, Tenebre crept out the guild while dodging random flying projectiles, letting out a huge sigh when she finally got some kind of peace and quiet. Sitting down onto a bench outside, she tilted her head slightly to the back while still keeping her eyes trained onto the starry night sky, and said behind her,
" Quite the guild you have there... Mavis"
The man panted, his feet crushing the leaves beneath his feet and leaving muddy footprints where he ran across, blood trickling down his back and down his legs, running desperately in only one direction, forward.
" There he is, get him!"
" Fuck!" He cursed and started running even faster in frantic frenzied movements.
" I hope i'm not too late...!"
AN: Urm... Bye i guess? See ya all in the next installment?
Ja Ne!
~KanaeHitomi~