Chapter 2: Written in Runes

"LETS GET IT OOOOON!"

The shout from one Reve Volver rung like a bell for the former assassin — Skye charging towards Freed with her right hand still glued to the hilt of her sheathed blade. No gimmicks just yet, the White Eclipse Mage ran straight for him, her lightning infused left hand leading the charge as she reared it behind her left ear prior to launching her hand forward for the Rune Mage's chest. Immediately, Freed countered by leaping off to the right, remaining calm and collected as he landed feet away. As Skye missed, she planted her feet into the ground and quickly turned to meet Freed once more. This time from the distance given Skye shot her blue lightning towards Freed like a projectile. Countering once again, Freed swiped his left hand across the air, creating a single line of runes. Those runes acted as a blockade as the blinding blue lightning slammed into them, sparking wildly yet harmless thanks to his defenses. A possible opening for Skye however? She definitely took the chance, leaping into the air behind the lightning blast and then dive-bombing towards Freed with her lightning infused hand once again. Swinging a downward punch to the top of his head, Skye just missed as Freed leapt away once more, creating a close call a Skye landed where he once stood. He became more on guard now, crouching with his hand on his blade as he cautiously watched the former assassin.

"Skye's really using that lightning of her's to start the fight. Unordinary." Luke chimed in. "She's looking for a big hit." Reve added, causing Luke to look his way. "Her lightning only paralyzes her opponent temporarily, but all Skye needs is a second's opening before she slices her opponent into pieces. That's what she's shooting for, to gain a heavy advantage."

"I see.." The Copy Cat noted, turning back to the fight. "Yeah, if she can land a big hit for her first strike, the fight will be to her advantage."

"Yeah but Freed isn't giving an inch either." Adamantine said, keeping his arms folded. "It's like he's aware of the strategy himself. Which he might be. Isn't he one of the smartest mages in that guild?"

"It doesn't matter! She's got this! Come on Skye!" Waiston shouted, pumping his fist as the two squared off once more.

Skye began rushing towards Freed once more, a straight line once again as Freed slowly began unsheathing his blade. Skye's eyes perked at the subtle gesture, but it didn't cause her momentum to falter. Instead, once Skye reached melee range, she ducked right under Freed's first swing of his blade. "You're mine!" She proudly exclaimed, shooting her lightning fist towards Freed's chest once again. "That's where you're mistaken." Freed spoke in retaliation, keeping a stoic look as Skye raised a brow in mid-swing. Suddenly, her fist was stopped short by what felt like a wall. Lightning sparking everywhere except it's intended target, Skye's eyes widened as she noticed it too late. In the air where Freed swung his blade just above her, were runes — the same runes Freed created with his hand just previously.

"Dark Écriture: Pain!"

With another horizontal swing of his sword, Freed wrote the runes across the chest of the assassin. Immediately after their appearance, Skye's body began to glow a purplish hue.

"Oh no.." Selene said, showing the same amount of utmost concern as the rest of White Eclipse. Cygnus clenched his jaw and bared his teeth tightly as he grabbed his own hair in worry. "We know what's coming, and I haven't seen it countered yet! She's in trouble!"

"Pain! Pain! Pain! Pain! Pain! Pain!"

Swipe after swipe, slash after slash! Freed continued to write "Pain" over and over again with his blade against Skye's frame. With each slash, Skye cried out in just that, pain — gradually succumbing to the intensity of Freed's Dark Écriture.

"Alright Freed!" Natsu shouted, throwing both his hands into the air. "That's our Freed alright!" Bickslow shouted as well with Evergreen cheering in the back, his dolls mocking his last words and Laxus merely standing before the Raijinshu with folded arms and a smirk upon his features.

"He's got her where he wants her! This'll be over quickly!" Cana shouted with a grin and a clenched fist.

"Let's not count any chickens before they hatch." Gildarts replied.

"Don't be a downer ya garbage father."

"Cana..!"

"Pain! Pain! Pain!" Freed continued the onslaught, Skye's expression gradually fading with each passing strike until finally Freed reared his blade back behind his hip. "This is Fairy Tail's victory!" Upon his words, Freed swung once more with all of his speed and might. A loud clang was heard however... and with widened eyes, Freed found himself in a stalemate of blades as Skye somehow managed to unsheathe her Claymore Sword despite the immeasurable amount of pain she was in.

"Skye...!?" Reve shouted in confusion and concern. The brunette was down to one knee, but the brown hair that covered her golden eyes were removed once she looked up to meet Freed's gaze. Still glowing that purple hue, she clenched her teeth as she began pushing back. "...Biofrost."

Suddenly, Skye's Claymore sword began to glow. Still holding the stalemate against Freed and his blade, her standard sword soon changed shape, turning to a ring-blade that resembled a small hula-hoop in size. With a hard grip on its inner ring, Skye pushed away from Freed, gaining space as he stumbled backwards for a few steps.

"Pai—" Freed was about to attack again, but was halted as he had to change maneuvers; avoiding the now incoming ring-blade by just a hair. The blade left the smallest of cuts on his left cheek, signifying just how close he was from losing his head in that instant. Yet, with that, it was merely a distraction. Just like that, Skye slammed her blue lightning infused left hand against Freed's chest, causing a immediate shock that led to a temporary paralysis as Freed became shook to his very core — the purple aura of Dark Écriture disappearing from Skye as well.

"Now its Freed that's in trouble!" Gray shouted with the others looking on in concern.

"Do it Skye!" Kuro shouted as the Biofrost made its way back around and into Skye's right hand. "Claymore!" She shouted, and the ring-blade soon shifted right back to her standard sword. With Freed unable to move, Skye swung her blade to his exposed frame in a diagonal manner...then a horizontal one...and finally a vertical slice right down the middle. Three powerful swings, all connecting as Freed cried out in the same octave that Skye gave when caught in his technique earlier.

"Freed!" Evergreen shouted in horror.

"Shit!" Bickslow cursed. "There's nothing he can do until that lightning fades! But it's wearing off now!"

As if she could hear Bickslow, Skye gave off a near wicked grin as the assassin summoned her lightning technique once more, striking Freed in the chest once again just before the first lightning strike completely faded just to repeat the torturous process once more.

"Savage!" Jaxon shouted as Freed cried out once more, smiling with widened eyes at the surprising Skye Ravenwood. White Eclipse began cheering in victory as even Sidney nodded and replied. "He's literally stuck. It's either give up or fall."

"What the hell!?" Gajeel shouted, clenching jaw and fists in annoyance. "Shit! There's nowhere for him to go!"

Spinning Claymore in her hands once, Skye gave Freed three more slashes in the same exact locations as the first set. On the third strike, the Requip Mage held her followthrough. "You have one second before I begin again. Do you concede?"

In the midst of his agonizing screams, Skye's question caused Freed to clench his teeth, refusing surrender as it was written in his angered yet pained visage. "Very well." Skye said as her hand began to spark once more.

"Freed! You have to fight out of it!" Laxus shouted, causing the others to look his way.

As Skye slammed another lightning palm against Freed's chest, causing him to cry out once more... "I know we're asking for a lot, but you gotta power out! You're a member of the Raijinshu, ain't ya!? Then act like it! My lightning is way more hectic than this! Come on Freed! FREED!"

As Skye reared her sword back to execute...

"Excuse my weakness, Laxus! I fell into the hype of what her lightning was capable of." Inner thoughts became the boost he needed to fight back as not only did Freed's right arm began to move, but simultaneously his right eye became pitch black with a purple pupil. As Skye started the first of her three swings, she sliced nothing but air as Freed disappeared in a plethora of scrambled letters. Those same runes reformed above Skye, high into the air and Freed reappeared within the midst of them; shirtless as Skye's attacks did a number on his attire as well as his body and being. The visible slash marks a clear branding of how intense the back and forth has already been, while Skye was no clean whistle either. Though Dark Écriture: Pain left no visible marks, the damage to her body was just as delivered, leaving these two at a near stalemate. As Freed fully reformed from teleporting via Rune Magic, dark wings appeared from his back. He now held the ability of flight thanks to his Dark Écriture: Wings. Holding his heavily damaged chest, panting, he kept his eyes upon the panting assassin. That's when Freed swung his sword against the air once more; this time the runes sticking to his own chest as he began to glow.

"Dark Écriture: Absolute Shadow."

Freed's upper body became covered in a darkened armor, complete with large shoulder pads and a helmet that gave him a menacing look. With his now slicked back hair protruding from his helmet, his transformation was complete, causing Skye to become on guard as she crouched ready to go for another round.

"Absolute Shadow huh?" Bacchus said while watching the giant screen before him. He then raised his gourd to drink. "This fight picked up in an instant. I thought that Skye chick had this fight in the bag once she scored that lightning strike! That wasn't wild of me at all to doubt a Fairy Tail Mage after all I've seen from them."

"Absolute Shadow with wings." Hibiki added, watching intently. "I guess he's planning to take this fight to the sky, but she can't fly, can she?"

"Who knows what they can do anymore." Ren said, Sherri hanging onto his arm lovingly. "They surprise us every time, which is the reason we're here watching them duke it out now."

"So am I gonna have to come up there?" Skye asked with a smirk.

"If you can." Freed replied, welcoming the banter from the brunette.

"If you insist." She murmured, and as she did, Skye lowly crouched, placing all of her strength into her legs as she sparked up her blue lightning once again. In one push, Ravenwood shot into the air like a rocket, swinging her left hand forward to once more try her paralyzing tactic. This time instead of retreating, Freed reared back his own opposing arm, and his own surge of lightning began spawned in the palm of his hand. An Electric Shockwave, an electric orb forming in his hand — Freed swung his hand forward to meet Skye's own lightning attack. The two collided, but the winner of that duel was easily spotted as the shocking premise of Freed's attack outshone and overpowered Skye's docile in comparison lightning. The assassin went falling backwards in recoil, smoke coming from her left hand she was now clutching as she fell from a sky's height.

"And just like that!" Gray shouted as Erza nodded and responded. "Her lightning is weak, just meant to paralyze. Freed would win that every time."

Laxus grinned as Freed then pursued the falling Skye like an osprey swooping down towards the prey it's locked on to. About halfway down, Skye finally recovered from her recoil. She looked up, noticing Freed quickly closing the distance between them with his armored right claw like hand reared back.

"Kusari!" She shouted as Freed neared. Following, he'd Claymore sword shifted once more, turning into a sickle that was attached to a weighted chain. Gripping her new weapon tightly, the second Freed swung his arm forward, Skye pulled her legs to her chest and then pushed them out, flipping over Freed with the powerful kick of air.

"...HEEEEEH!?" Toby screeched as everyone who wasn't bothered by his boisterous wailing continued to look on impressed, shocked. "Did she just push off of air!?"

"Sky walking." Yuka, the heavy browned Mage of Lamia Scale answered Toby befuddlement. "She's very talented. And the fact you didn't know what it is, proves why we're on the sidelines watching instead of being one of the two fighting."

"Freed-san's in trouble again!" Wendy pointed out as Skye made a perfect flip behind him. Skye then threw her Kursari forward by its sickle. The weighted chain then wrapped around Freed's body multiple times, holding his arms down by his side as they two became clamped by the heavy chains. With Freed tightly wrapped up, Skye landed on the Rune Mage's back, pressing her right foot against the back of his head as they continued to plummet towards the ground at such a high speed.

"Freed!" Evergreen shouted.

"Do it Skye!" Takeru responded.

Try as he might, Freed couldn't struggle out of the chains, and finally... the Rune Mage slammed head first into the ground. A small crater formed from where they landed, and hoping out of the smoky debris was Skye with her sickle and chain weapon, swinging it cockily as she smiled innocently.

"Now that's a crash landing." Luke's first of many puns finally showed its face as White Eclipse began cheering for their assassin. As the smoke cleared, Freed could be seen climbing out of the crater slowly, teetering back and forth as he walked out in chipped armor. Skye lowered her gaze back to a serious visage, tightening her grip on her Kurasi once again, swinging the sickle rapidly.

"He's barely standing after that fall..." Laxus noted.

"Finish him!" Reve and Adam simultaneously shouted. Upon command, Skye let out a yell as she crouched and then lunged forward.

"...Activate. Jutsu Shiki."

Suddenly, Skye slammed face first into a wall of Runes! Holding her head, she rubbed her forehead as the wall of runes sprouted up towards the sky, leaving Skye no escape for the time being.

"What? When did you have time..!? I didn't see you —" Stopping her own sentence, Skye's eyes widened in shock. Flashing back to the beginning of the match when Skye was chasing Freed with her lightning, she just now realized how Freed's own hand was glowing with his lettering magic, yet he never used to to attack nor defend except once at the end of the exchange... "When he completed the Runes, he was able to defend my lightning strike with his own magic... that's why he was just running away at first..! To finish his..."

"He's got her! That's a MAN of a move, Freed!" Elfman shouted as the rest of Fairy Tail sighed in relief. "It was one thing to try and not get excited when he finished the Runes.." Bickslow said. "...But it became a whole different thing when that Skye girl kept avoiding them without even knowing."

"But he's got her now!" Natsu shouted.

Freed regained himself the best he could, standing tall as Skye continuously tried to break free of the Runes she was surrounded by. "Since I know you're too stubborn to give up just by being trapped, I've made the rules simple." He then pointed towards Skye in a condescending yet demanding manner.

"For as long as you hold a weapon, you'll not be allowed to leave these Runes."

"What!?" Skye exclaimed and Reve echoed. Skye then turned to her weapon, which then formed to her Claymore sword once more. With much hesitation, Skye dropped her sword, testing out Freed's Runes as she slowly pushed her hand through; the Runes allowing the former assassin access out of its trap. The second her hand passed through, Freed grabbed it, catching Skye off guard as he pulled her out the Runes without her weapon and slamming an armored fist to her abdomen.

"Tssss oo!" Bickslow and the others flinched from the blow to the stomach. "I felt that one!" So did Skye, and she was hunched over, holding her gut with both hands as she wobbled forward. "You're an amazing swordsman, but without your weapon, you're just an acrobatic side show, correct?" Freed asked as he slammed another plated right hand to Skye's jawline, causing her to go sliding back into the ground, kicking up dirt and rubble until she finally slid to a stop against her will.

"Hey hey! Freed really has picked up the maliciousness!" Sting shouted as everyone watched.

"A side show, you called me?" She asked, pushing up to her hands and knees as she spat blood from her mouth. Heavy pants exuded, Skye looking for the will to stand once more. "Is that what I am without my sword?"

Freed continued to stalk, nearing his prey as he rotated his right wrist whilst preparing for a finishing blow. Before he could arrive however, Skye stood up once again, teetering back and forth before finally regaining some type of balance. "To spit on my abilities is to spit on White Eclipse, which is the reason we're here in the first place. You fairies just don't learn, huh?" Skye began limping towards Freed, but the closer she got, the more poised her walk became as he strengthened into a jog, and then a run. Freed was a bit surprised himself. "Such will power. They really do match us when it comes to not giving in and pushing forward. But... I won't let you move another step forward! I will take this victory here!"

As Freed shouted, he threw another powerful right punch — one that Skye avoided by leaping over, landing on Freed's arm as if she was weightless. Skye then spun, slamming a kick to Freed's helmeted head and snapping him to his right. As he stumbled, Skye jumped again, landing behind him with a right hook aimed for his head once again. This time, Freed blocked it with his forearm, grabbing her arm right after the parry. The Rune Mage then slammed his left knee into Skye's abdomen, bending her over once more. Sucking it up however, Skye quickly flipped, slamming a left kick to his chin in the process. Back pedaling a few feet from the blow, Freed turned his sights back to an incoming Skye, blue lightning surging from her left hand yet again.

"That doesn't work anymore, remember!" He yelled, creating his Electric Shockwave once more. The two collided lightning strikes for a quick stalemate before Freed was seen easily overcoming Skye. Before he could completely overcome her though, Skye's right hand began to illuminate that same surging blue. As the lightning in her left hand faded, Skye grabbed Freed's hand despite the overwhelming shock it emitted. She cried out, yet held on as she locked fingers with the Rune Mage. Now, with her right hand surging...

"It doesn't matter which hand!" Freed yelled, creating another shockwave of his own in his free hand to counter Skye's, but as he reared back, Skye swung her lightning infused hand...into her own chest!

"What're you doin - AHH!" Freed's question was interrupted yet answered. As Skye shocked herself with her own lightning, her interlocked fingers allowed the current to pass through her and onto Freed, shocking him into temporary paralysis once again.

"Wow! GO SKYE! TAKE ADVANTAGE! FINSIH IT!" Kairi yelled from the sidelines. Without a doubt.

With Freed unable to move, Skye lifted the Rune Mage and began running towards the Jutsu Shiki!

"What's she doing?" Minerva asked, inquiring intrigue as she focused on Skye.

"She's headed for the Runes! She's going for her sword!" Gray shouted. "Freed! Break out of it!"

Slowly, Freed began to fight back against the paralyzing lightning, moving his right arm, then his left to grab ahold of Skye. Yet, the assassin managed to make it inside the Jutsu Shiki, pushing Freed off of her as she grabbed her Claymore sword in one motion. That's when she shouted, "Requiem!" At the same time, Freed was able to break free of the lightning faster than usual. As a result, he grabbed the hilt of his sword. "Dark Écriture: ...Slay!"

Everything happened so fast..

Skye and Freed both swung at a near simultaneous rate. As Skye held her followthrough, her sword had just finished glowing and reforming to the Requiem she called for; a straight, wide sword with a sturdy yet thickened blade and broad edge. The sword was just a bit bigger than Skye herself. Apparently, she only needed it for one swing, as Freed's Runes shattered into pieces, and the Rune Mage of the Raijinshu himself...fell to the ground — out cold.

Silence and shock at first, Skye fell to her knees from Freed's last strike, blurred vision and all, but she held up a fist to signify that she was okay. That's when Calium happily called it.

"Freed Justine can no longer continue! The winner is Skye Ravenwood!"

Cheers came the loudest from White Eclipse as Adamantine retrieved the assassin, carrying her back to the team. "SKYEEEEE!" They shouted, causing her to smile past the pain she was in. She then gave the dragon carrying her a thumbs up. "I did it."

Adam nodded with a small smile. "You did, now get some rest. We may need you again."

"Oi, and White Eclipse draws first blood." Bacchus sung as he dangled the gourd from his fingertips. "I wonder how long it'll take Fairy Tail to bounce back from that."

"COOOOOL COOOLL COOOOOOOOOL!" Jason shouted. "What an amazing match, and we're just getting started! This is everything COOL any fan could ask for!"

Making his way back to his guild defeated, Freed kept his head lowered as he bit his own lip to hold back the whimpering. "Hey! Great fight Freed!" Natsu shouted, causing him to raise his head. "Yeah!" Lucy shouted. "You gave it your all! You were amazing too! Scary even!"

Laxus then planted a hand on his shoulder, staring out towards an incoming Waiston Tunundra. "Good job. Let us handle the rest."

Freed stared, then nodded as he wiped the potential tears from his eyes. At this time, Wendy Marvell was already walking forward.

"Good luck Wendy! Be careful!" Charla shouted. Wendy kept her sights on her opponent however, and the two Dragon Slayers stood face to face, Wendy having to look up thanks to the height difference.

Calium then yelled.

"Looks like it's Waiston Tunundra versus Wendy Marvell! You two! Whenever you're ready!

Begin!"