[ Phantom Lord Arc {4} ]
-N-D-
Totomaru, the element of Fire weaves his hands through the air as he manipulates Natsu's Fire Dragon's Roar and splits it in half. Transforming the color of the fiery orange into a purple and yellow, he converts the power into his own as he fires it back at Natsu who leans back sharply in order to dodge. The colored fire explodes behind him as Natsu gets back up with ease and is hit immediately with a red flame by Totomaru, but Natsu just shrugs off the attack thanks to his ability to be physically immune to fire.
"That's all you got?" Totomaru sneered despite the obvious stalemate. Natsu just scoffed as he charged towards him, moving fast. They exchanged physical blows with one another, Natsu got a good swipe at Totomaru's feet but the other managed to grab onto the dragon slayer and flip their positions. A foot was centimeters of being stomped onto Natsu's stomach but he catches it, and open's his mouth to activate yet another Fire Dragon's Roar.
Totomaru just smirked at him as he prepared to control Natsu's flames once more with his pyrokenesis ability, when a wetness hit him inside. Natsu grinned smugly as Totomaru flinched away in disgust before punching him in the face. His opponent's body flew back as he crashed into the ground, " Ew! "
He furiously wiped his face, "Did you just spit at me?"
Natsu just stuck his tongue at him childishly as he came over to attack once more, but he was soon hit with an orange flame by a irritated Totomaru. Quickly dispersing it, Natsu just raised an eyebrow at the attempt to attack him. And that's when he took in a small breath and immediately gagged, smelling rotten eggs develop the entirety of his senses. He took a step back as he tried to shake off the horrid smell, groaning and coughing in disgust.
"You're petty as hell!"
"You're the one that spit at me first!" Totomaru spat back.
Regardless, the battle was going to come to an end soon. Natsu finally figured out that while Totomaru has great pyrokenesis skills, he can only control the amount of magic that he's equal in. That means that if he attacks him with an ability that surpasses him in magic power, he won't be able to control it. At that thought, Natsu yells for Happy to fly up and get away, he doesn't want his buddy to get burned after all.
As he prepares his attack, Totomaru slowly walks over to him as he slowly unseathed his sword, before picking up speed in an instant. Natsu grinned at him as he charged up his own fists, "Let's see if you can control this ."
"Wha-?"
"Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!"
Boom.
Natsu's ears rang as the explosion boomed and echoed inside the guild.
The flame effectively does its job in the end. The goal was to overwhelm Totomaru's pyrokenesis abilities, to put so much power into it that the flames didn't have no choice but to be what they were meant to be. A destructive force. He's set the entire room on fire at once, the explosion was on such a massive scale that not even he saw it coming. Totomaru shouts in pain as his body bursts through the walls, into the room at the reaction with the lacrima in the middle.
Natsu managed better, as he was fire-proof, but the combustion with the lacrima that was powering Jupiter was enough to knock him back as well. His body soars across the room until it smacks against the wall. He grits his teeth as the force pushes against him, the mana holding him down and restricting his movements heavy.
"F-Fuck-" He hisses as he grips the wall tightly, fingers digging in as he barely held on. The weight was making it difficult to breath, he was gasping for air as he growled, willing himself to hold on.
Eventually, the mana dispersed naturally into the air and with a ragged sigh, Natsu slid down the wall as he gulped down precious oxygen. "H-Happy?! Happy! "
"A-Aye…" Happy said weakly as he came down from above, he was in a similar position as Natsu was earlier with the reaction. His wings ached from being pinned against the ceiling, but he managed to catch the weaker side of the mana wave thanks to the size of the room. Natsu had shot a relieved smile at his companion as he slowly got up, rolling his arm out of discomfort.
He looked at the ruins of the power source, "Well, that solved that problem then. I didn't expect such a reaction though, I thought it was just going to break."
"Hmm~" Happy said a bit thoughtfully as he peered at the broken Lacrima, "Lacrimas are used as catalysts to be charged with power. Whoever charged this up…"
"...is one hell of a person," Natsu finished. Was it Jose? The guildmaster of Phantom Lord? If it was him, then that was merely a glimpse of the essence of a Ten Wizard Saint, it seemed. It's crazy to think that the old geezer had the magic power inside of him as well, and it's just another reminder of the ridiculously strong that awaits within the world. How vast it is.
His heart races at the thought, but this time, he's unsure if it's the fear of the unfathomable power that Jose Porla and Makarov Dreyar seem to have inside of them, or the anticipation to see more.
That quickly morphed into a feeling of nausea as he takes a knee of a moment, groaning as the floor beneath began to shake and adjust itself as if it was alive. The room began to reconfigure into something completely different, and Happy looked around in shock before flying over to Natsu and picking him off the ground.
"C'mon Natsu, we gotta get out of here!" Happy yelped as the previous entrance they had originally landed on, closed off. He quickly looked around, and proceeded to rush into the nearest opening he could find.
-M-S-
Run and don't look back, she tells herself.
Her hand is outstretched as she performs the most basic of transformation magic. The first spell she's casted in over two years, the first time that she's actively had the will to perform magic ever since suffering a loss so great that she fell into a dark abyss. Or perhaps she was always in an abyss, and the light that kept her going for so long was snuffed out, succumbing into the darkness.
White hair morphs into blonde, blue eyes darkened into a soft, warm brown as she runs.
And it's not like she doesn't know how to fight anymore, Mirajane thinks bitterly as she dodges a Shade that lunges at her. It's not like she's become this weak, frail, pathetic girl that just smiles and bartends for her friends. She wasn't completely helpless, she wasn't .
'Oh…how the mighty has fallen.' A dark, but soft feminine voice whispers from its deranged pit.
She would have flinched harder at the words that ring in her mind, bouncing off of the space, had she not felt the familiarity of them. Instead, her surprise comes in the form of nearly tripping and face-planting on a large piece of debris from the firing of the cannon. Her arm is bruised from an attack that she wasn't able to dodge and pain erupts from the area. Still, she grits her teeth and she shrugs the Shade off before continuing to run through to the front lines.
Mindlessly, she's running.
There isn't much of a plan, really.
'Just a desperate attempt to prove your worth, hmm?'
" Satan. " Mirajane whispers in disbelief.
She hadn't heard her voice in over two years as well.
'Be a dear and stop the pity party, won't you? It's getting old .'
There isn't much a description that could accurately describe what Satan was to Mira, and how much of an impact she's had on their lives together. When she was younger and she had first activated her power, Satan had terrified her. A desperate urge for destruction and chaos, laughing in her mind whenever Mirajane dwelled upon it. Was it a darker side of Mira that she didn't know she had?
Or was it a manifestation of something mythical, that decided to sink her claws into Mira's soul and torture her relentlessly with thoughts of malice.
It's partially to blame for her aggressiveness when she was younger. How else was she supposed to fight off the feeling of insanity from the nature of her magic? The spats, the hurtful words, the growls and the hisses. It all came from the primal side of her, the demonic one. And she had hated it.
' The Demon ' they had called her, when she was young. Despite the fact that they had requested her for her power. Despite the fact that they were helpless in their own problems, and needed a preteen to come save them. It always made Satan laugh when Mirajane had felt terrible as usual about it. And she would whisper that it was just jealousy, and the fear of the unknown. It wasn't anything that she could control, but it amused Satan nonetheless.
Was it so hard for people to understand that the thoughtless words that seep out of them, could hurt others feelings? Especially a young girl, who was just as scared of her own power as they were. Was it hard to imagine that she also wasn't sure if she was evil or not? That the thoughts that plagued her from her own mana , wasn't some sin that she was cursed to be born with?
She wanted to scream .
After a while, there was a symbiotic relationship that they fell into the routine of. She got better at understanding Satan and her thought process, and Satan in returned didn't bother her much when she wasn't using her Take-Over magic. In the end, Mirajane had thought long and hard about what she thought of Satan, but she came to the conclusion that she wasn't entirely evil .
She encouraged violence against her enemies, but to be evil meant that their favor wasn't discriminatory in her eyes. It meant that all within her path were to suffer, and Satan did not want that. It took years for that kind of trust, but they had gone through it together, and thus they were at their strongest when they were one and had the same goals.
No longer had Mirajane been scared of her power, and no longer did she fear Satan.
Until it happened.
And suddenly what good was all of this overcoming, all of the trauma that she had endured within herself, all of the power that she was "blessing" or "cursed" with, if she couldn't even protect her own sister. A darker thought had festered inside of her, because why did everyone else get to get saved with her spells as they whispered their terrors behind her back, when one of the only people that loved her in her entirety had to die ?
How was it fair?
Why…wasn't she strong enough when it mattered the most?
Why?
Nothing mattered for a while after that. Not her useless magic that only seemed to be in vain, not her attitude that came with holding her inner demons at bay, not the will to help others whom she did not love. She threw it all away, she threw Satan away, and later when thinking back on it, it just made everything worse.
It had started off as raw pain and grief.
Overtime, some of it had transformed into a self-loathe. Elfman hadn't broken down completely, he had gotten stronger in the end. He still could still perform magic, and he never lost control again of his abilities. He had put in the work in order to make sure that nothing like that would ever repeat itself.
And why couldn't she have gone through that phase?
Why couldn't her grief made her stronger?
Instead, she was helpless .
And not even taking over the brunt of the work, making sure that everyone was satisfied within the guild, adopting Lisanna's infectious bubbly energy that everyone had loved , could change that reality-
BOOM-
A small sound wave laced with mana launched from the guild, and it forces Mirajane to snap out of her mindless thoughts as everyone in the vicinity flew back for a moment. Breaking her fall out of pure habit, Mira groaned in pain for a moment before looking up at the newly transformed guild in shock.
It had turned into a robotic mage, it seemed, with magic circles appearing all around it as it completes its reconfiguration. Her jaw drops a bit in shock as everyone else around her stared in disbelief, looking up. A startled, incredulous laugh bubbles out of her at the sight, because what the hell?
Wasn't this looking like an apocalypse?
" Mira! " Cana shouted as she finally caught up with her, with Elfman high on her heels the moment he had realized his sister went into the heart of the battle. He was worried for Mira, he always was.
He had to grow up to be a man for her to rely on, but he knew that Mira wasn't so lucky in that regard. That day haunts him just as much as it haunts her.
He had been the one to… k-kil- hurt her after all.
"Mira…" Elfman whispered at the sight of his sister, at her distraught face. Her face was full of confliction, as she slowly turned into Lucy, yet another testament of how much she has been affected by the recent years mentally. But deep down, there was a miniscule fire that was sparking, that was trying to set aflame.
But when he opens his mouth to continue to say something more, his eyes widen before they narrow and he hisses, "Beast Arm: Black Soul", as he plants his feet into the ground and catches the massive piece of concrete from the ground, that was heading in their direction. Cana and Mira both gasped before moving into defensive measures as one of the Element 4 calmly walked over to them with a glint in his eye and a dark reflection in the glass of his monocle.
Sand was floating around him as the short, stubby man slowly walked forwards, before pointing at Elfman crudely.
"I heard a rumor …" Sol said slowly, before his lips morphed into a gradual, manic grin, "That you're defective ."
"Defec- Ugh. " Elfman grunts as he's engulfed within a sand storm. It blocks his field of vision, it stings against his pupils, and he holds his arms up in helpless defense against the flying particles as they overwhelm him.
"Oh no you don't," Cana shouts as she pulls out a glowing card, but Sol was already prepared for the card mage. She had been a bit of a surprise, his data on her was outdate. She was fairing much better that he had imagined, and he grits his teeth at being wrong about yet another female mage of Fairytail. First the blasted blonde, and now the skimpy brunette.
"Shades!" Sol yells, and all of the Shades in the vicinity focuses their attention on Cana and Mirajane as Sol begins to engage with Elfman. Cana's heart drops at the sudden turn of events, and she's knows she's not going to be able to help Elfman at this rate. Not when her lover was right behind her, needing all the help that she could get in order to protect herself.
The odds are terrible, it's dozens of shades against one, and yet again, as Mira watches her girlfriend charge into battle from behind her, the feeling of self-loathe comes back at full force. Cana hadn't been wrong earlier. In her current state, if she were to join in and attempt to fight side by side with her, she'd just be a hindrance.
Her fists shake as they clench against her side, her throat closing up as she fights back against the tears of pure frustration, because despite it all, she just wants to be useful again.
A-And she just can-
"Can't or won't ?" Satan snarls.
"I want to, I just can't ." Mira sobs to herself.
The abhorrence has resided in her for so long, she doesn't know how to escape it.
The abyss isn't pitch black. At the bare minimum, she navigates the dark ruins with a lantern, filled with the love of her nakama and family to fuel her. But she has gotten used to the darkness, her sight has been adjusted, her body has folded. Light at the end of the tunnel was a naive way of thinking sometimes, because they never really tell you how long the tunnel is. Light is travels the fastest they said, but people always forget that in order to light something up, there has to be darkness first.
It's been so long .
"Then watch. Watch as they suffer and you fucking sit here with the ability to do something, and you don't ." Satan spats as vicious as she as cruel, but it softens into something filled with melancholy, because despite not being able to communicate with Mira after being shut out, she had not abandoned her. She had been there and felt every emotion that Mira has suffered through. And that is why, when she says her next words, it comes from the closest thing of a heart that not even Satan knows herself if she has.
"Those who cannot help themselves, can't expect to be able to help others to the best of their ability."
Satan sighed.
"It will take time, but you haven't even allowed yourself to take the first step yet. The only thing stopping you from making a move is you , and don't you dare allude yourself into thinking otherwise." She finished with her signature snarl before retreating once more. Mira's heart pounded furiously at Satan's words, her body itching to start something, to do something. God, she was still so scared , because now she hasn't used her magic in over two years and it took so long in order to gain control.
A new level of fear settles as Mirajane forces herself to run, run through the darkness this time.
To finally look for the light at the end of the tunnel, instead of waiting to come across it by chance.
Elfman roars in the distance, punching through the sandstorm blindly as he tries to get a lick onto Sol, who just laughs and disappears into the sand before Elfman can touch him. It was frustrating, because he was so close in making contact. Or maybe that's what Sol wanted Elfman to think, and he was just toying with him just out of amusement. It makes him feel helpless, because he's worked hard in gaining enough strength in order to defeat enemies like this.
And it feels like he's done it all for nothing .
Was the fruits of his ethic, rotten from the start?
"Where's the other one? I see one…but don't you have a younger sister?" Sol taunted him, and it was effective. Elfman paused and faltered badly in the middle of a swing, causing him to lose his balance and stumble. Sol just laughs in the distance, and blood rushes through Elfman's ears because he knows . He knows what such a question would do to him and he asked anyways, he already knew the answer.
"Roche Concerto" Sol cackled and a barrage of boulders and rocks blindside Elfman, crashing into his back in various places. It's not enough to make him down for the count, but it hurts as the edges dig into his skin. He huffs in pain as he staggers out of the attack, but the mental warfare that Sol waged earlier proved to be more effective than he had realized.
Just a mere mention of his dead sister, and he was close to breaking, Sol thought full of amusement. How pathetic.
But…it was entertaining to watch.
"It was when you tried to use Full-Body Take-Over, correct? When it went horribly wrong, and caused you to kill your little sister."
" STOP." Elfman roars in anger, the memories threatening to overcome him. He was just getting into his head, and while it was an effective move against him, he wasn't going to fall. Elfman knew that this was just some twisted psychological warfare and he gritted his death as he lunged once more into the sandstorm, because fuck this guy and everything he was.
He would've been okay too.
Until the noise suddenly slowed to a stop, as the battle went on beyond the storm he was trapped in. As the wind raged against his ears, turning into a soft hum as his heart stopped at the sight before him. His breath hitched, his eyes watered from the sand, but at the pain that was engulfing his heart.
He took a step forwards, arm hesitantly stretched out as he hoarsely whispered,
" Lisanna?"
A mirage of Lisanna stood before him, looking at him with contempt in her eyes as he fell to his knees at the sight of his sister before him. Elfman couldn't bare the look in her eyes, he felt as if he was going to pass out.
Her form flickers, and it turns into her last moment where he had lost control of his last attempt at a Full-Body Take-Over, and it had caused him to smack her flying, crashing into the ground. She had had blood running down her face, and then he saw her disappear into light, right in Mira's arms.
And he does a full-body shudder at the sight of her bloodied self before him, tearing running down his face as he just slumps down and quietly sobs. Sol leans into his ear,
"How does it feel? To see your sister again? I am quite the gentleman for setting up their reunion."
"You bastard. " Elfman snarls with hatred in his voice as he snaps his head to look at Sol. His Beast Arm flickers as his body becomes overwhelmed with excessive mana. His body glows and stops, repeatedly, and Sol backs up in slight confusion as Elfman begins to transform. The beast that was crawling inside of him was begging to come free, because how dare he mock Lisanna and her death.
How dare he sit there and try to remind Elfman of the pain of losing his sister as if he didn't feel everyday. The very moment that haunts his sleep if he wasn't blessed with the realm of nothingness.
Taunting him about his lack of control, pfft.
He'll show him lack of control.
And he'll show him power.
And when Mirajane hears a familiar roar echoed throughout Magnolia, her heart stops, her eyes unfocus, and she sucks in a breath. Everyone within the vicinities's ears bleed from the sound of the howl of the Beast that was within the sandstorm. Mirajane's blood ran cold as she stared at the shadow form of the beast, knowing full and well that that was her brother .
Bump.
A slow, steady pounding begins in her ears.
"E-Elfman-" Mirajane stutters as she stares on, watching as her brother rages against his enemy. Because this-this has happened before.
Deja vu seeps into her skin and she wants to claw it off .
"Will you let history repeat itself?" Satan said flatly.
They were getting overwhelmed by the enemy now. The shades never seemed to stop coming, Elfman was screaming and losing his mind as he was in Full-Body Takeover Form, digging his hands into the ground and ripping the roads apart as he fought against one of the members of the Element 4. Cana was doing her best, but even she knew it wasn't looking good for her. The shades never tired out, and as much as she wished for it, Cana did not have unlimited stamina to fight after hordes of hordes. She was getting sluggish, adrenaline the only thing that's keeping her alert and almost woundless.
And that's when it hits Mira, who swallows harshly, that she wasn't the only one who was scared right now. It might not be the same type of fear she was harboring inside of herself, but Fairytail was in the middle of war .
Everyone was scared about what could happen and now was not the time to be wallowing in your own personal hell.
Satan was correct.
She had the power to stop history from repeating itself, and she had the power to help .
" Satan Soul: Majin "
A pulse of negative mana is sent throughout the area, and everyone who can afford to looks at the source in absolute shock. A loud crack sounded through the space as large black tail smacked against the road, before whipping around menacingly. Blonde hair transformed swiftly back into white, cracks streaked across the side of her face, her hands turned into sharp golden claws.
Pointed ears immediately rang due to the cranked up sensitivity, sharp blue eyes glowed as she embraced the feeling of her power flowing through her veins. Satan was howling in pleasure, relishing in being used once more as she merged with Mirajane. Her emotions almost sent Mirajane in a euphoric high, as whenever" she performs her take-over magic, Satan loses the ability to communicate but in exchange, Mirajane gains her passions.
That's why she could help the smirk that came over her lips as she briefly locked eyes with a shocked Sol who was staring dumbfoundly at the mage, lowering her eyelids dangerously half-lidden as she whispers,
"Finally."
-J-L-
"Why does the rain not bother you?" Juvia asked quietly, moving at the same pace as Gajeel as they quietly scaled the buildings, looking for the target. Gajeel was tasked with retrieving Lucy Heartfilia ( again ) and Juvia decided on a whim that she was going to join as well. It had surprised Jose, who normally doesn't expect Juvia to make moves on her own as she preferred to be told what to do in an effort to "not be a burden to others" with her rain.
Sol had complained the entire way about her showers, when they went to capture the girl the first time.
"It's just water," Gajeel grunted out.
He didn't elaborate, and that was fine.
"Why're you here with me?" Gajeel asked in return, a little awkwardly. He looked back over his shoulder to Juvia, who looked at him with a small glance before shrugging and looking back at the ground below. She's not sure what to think of her actions, as she's felt a bit off even since she had fought Lucy Heartfilia.
So much passion, the blonde had, it was a little fascinating, considering her circumstances.
It wasn't as if she had known the other members of Fairytail for a long time, it's been about two months at most. Her father had given them some details before sending them off to kidnap her, but why was she fighting so hard for people that she barely know? It was supposed to be easy.
Instead, Juvia remembers to look of defiance clearly in her mind, and it shakes her a bit.
It's been a long time since she's felt anything strong like that.
It-It wasn't personal, she chants lowly in her mind.
It wasn't.
"No reason in particular," Juvia deflected and Gajeel grunts again before falling silent.
Out of the strongest of Phantom Lord, Juvia had always liked Gajeel more than the others. He didn't talk too much, he wasn't overly affectionate. He didn't care about the fact that she only seemed to be good for bringing misery and depression, with her rain that constantly follows her around. It had bothered her when she was younger, but she's grown emotionless to it by now. Emotionless to many things, in fact.
But Gajeel was a breath of fresh air.
And if he was tolerating her presence and didn't speak ill for her out of courtesy (which didn't fit his M.O but who's to say), she was thankful regardless. Sincere or insincere, it was nice to not receive judgement looks for something she has lost control of years ago.
"Stop," Gajeel said as he held out a hand to signal so. Juvia was lost in her thoughts and her head smacked into it for a brief moment. She blinked and took a step back as Gajeel looked down at her with an unamused expression as she rubbed her forehead. Curiously, she wondered if he was going to lash out like he normally did when someone else touched him or bothered him without permission.
Instead all she got was a scoff as he moved on quickly, thumbing towards the right.
"Caught a new scent, probably blondie, although it's with mint scent as well. Not alone." Gajeel choppedly told Juvia, who almost wanted to let out a sigh. As there were good sides to Gajeel, there were also bad ones. Juvia wasn't the most social person, but Gajeel's people skills were almost non-existent. Much less, teamwork skills.
"How many?"
"Meh, just one." Gajeel replied as he squated down, squinting his eyes to see below. He brushed a long wetlock out of his face as he studied the area, looking for the girl. A piece of him kept an eye on the bluenette next to him though, wondering what the hell was wrong with her. Normally she had the face of dull cardboard, and she looked as if she was had nothing in her mind.
But there was a small difference, as he glanced at her from time to time.
It surprises him a little that he cared in general to be quite honest. They don't talk a lot, but was that such a bad thing? Gajeel really never had much to say unless it was words of agitation, and Juvia-well she was always too out of it to really get more than pleasantries.
Maybe it was because she's strong, and Gajeel likes strong things.
Yeah.
"Oi, Dewy."
Juvia's brow furrowed at the familiar nickname as her mouth turned downwards very minisculely. "Must you insist on calling Juvia that?"
Gajeel just sneered at her, but it wasn't full of malice, she noted, as he got up for a moment. "Fuckin' smile once in a while and maybe you'll be Sunny instead."
"What is it?" Juvia sighed, ignoring the jab to her personality. She's used to it (and it shouldn't sting anymore, but it still does).
"Don't get in the way," Gajeel eventually said, not feeling comfortable about saying anything else. Juvia gave Gajeel a small, curious look.
"How…nice of you."
"Fuck off."
"Fairytail is interesting, hm?" Juvia didn't miss a beat, bluntly hitting the subtle nail on the head. Gajeel wanted to flinch for some reason. Is that why he was getting a little…generous with Juvia? Because of what he has witnessed with Fairytail's influence and their comradery? Like, why the hell did Salamander leave in the middle of a fight that they had both clearly been enjoying, for Heartfilia? The look on his face was embedded in his mind, what was an emotion that could trigger such a thing?
He was fucking curious and he hated that.
"Don't let their shit get into your head, we ain't weak." Gajeel huffed.
"They aren't either," Juvia reminded him, and Gajeel was tired of the conversation. Phantom Lord never bothered too much with the emotions of it all, so why the hell was it starting now?
Too much emotions were hindrances, and they made you weak.
(Salamander had overpowered him the moment he fell into a rage over Lucy Heartfilia.
Gajeel knew it, deep down.)
Friends aren't needed; just power, fame, and honor. Use other people if you must in order to achieve such things.
(Someone had screamed nakama in the beginning of the battle, but what did that even mean ?
And why did it motivate everyone to fight harder?
It was just a fucking word.
Why were they smiling ?)
Only the strong matters.
(But…what is true stren-)
" Dewy. " Gajeel barked abruptly, locking eyes with Lucy's figure in the distance as she ran away from the battlefield. Juvia took note of the change of his tone, the apathetic Gajeel coming back full force as he moved to chase without another word and she silently followed. It seemed whatever brief moment of rare introspection that threatened to break through had finally dispersed.
Perhaps, it was for the best, anyways.
It wasn't like she knew how to deal with new emotions, and Gajeel looked as if he was on the verge of becoming irritated at his own. Wavering feelings in the middle of war, how juvenile. It was second thoughts like before that could cost you in the heat of a fight. Defeat was not an option, Phantom Lord would prevail in the end as they are true strength.
So she shoves her emotions back into the box they came from, and jumps off of the last building they raced against, before catching up towards the target and her companion with Gajeel by her side. The blonde girl, and a shirtless boy who seemed to have stiffened and turned around at their presence.
Gajeel just shoved his hands in his pockets as he walked forwards with a staple smirk on his face, dark red eyes looking at the duo as rain poured heavily around him. Juvia had almost felt bad, almost wanted to back up and suffer alone in the rain as she normally does. As people normally wishes silently for her to do.
Her storm cloud was bigger than before, but she realized as she stood by Gajeel's side that not once has he stepped too far away from her, away from her never ending storm. There's a feeling inside of her chest at the revelation. The presence, the stability, the consistency.
It was…nice.
And she didn't feel quite so alone anymore.
-G-F-
"Get behind me, Lucy," Gray hissed as soon as he noticed that they were no longer alone. He had thought that he felt as if he was being watched intently as they ran towards the safe house, and it turned out that it was true. A storm cloud hung over two new individuals as they slowed made their way forwards.
One was drenched, and the other wasn't affected at all.
"That's her, the Water one!" Lucy exclaimed as she pointed at Juvia Lockser. Juvia said nothing as she turned to look Lucy before looking at Gray. Gray didn't know what to make of the girl, she had an air of staleness and heaviness that seemed to rest over her. Her eyes were blank as she looked at the two of them.
The other seemed to have more energy to him, but the tall man only had his eyes locked onto Lucy, which made Gray's blood boil for numerous of reasons. Was he only interested in Lucy from Jose's orders? Or was he underestimating Gray, not even acknowledging his existence?
The wind blew between the enemy guild members, as the storm raged on on one end.
"Take her, as Juvia will take care of the boy." Juvia told Gajeel who rolled his eyes but shrugged. He gave a smirk at Lucy who frowned at the sight of it as she took a step back, but it was too late. The fight had begun.
Gajeel immediately hopped forwards, Gray's eyes widened for a fraction before he summoned an ice dome, shielding the two of them for a moment. Gray whipped around to give Lucy instructions, when an iron beam smashed into the dome almost instantly, breaking through with ease.
Ice shards flew past the two of them in slow motion as Gajeel stepped through the hole he had created, looking down at them with an amused expression on his face as he waved a hand through his wet hair.
He pointed at Lucy, "Come, bunny girl."
"B-Bunny girl?!" Lucy yelped, cheeks red.
Gajeel let out a small, weird laugh that sounded like "gihihi" as he moved forwards. "You're surprisingly fast, like puny rabbit. Too bad I've caught you now."
His arm extended into an iron claw, and that's when both of them realized that this was most likely the Iron-Dragon Slayer of Phantom Lord, Gajeel Redfox. His power wasn't something to be trifled with, as his beams seemed to have cut through Gray's ice like cake. He was fast as well, covering the distance between himself and Lucy with quick steps as he suddenly appeared in front of the celestial spirit mage.
" Lucy! "
"Holy-" Lucy shouted as she strung over Gajeel's shoulder with ease, before the dragon slayer slammed his way out.
"Oh no you don't!" Gray shouted, as he prepared to cast an Ice-Make Javelin in order throw at Gajeel. The area around him grew cold as he got into position quickly, making the motions of throwing the ice javelin with all of his strength. However, as he tried to twist his shoulder and deal the final blow, somethin wrapped around his arm and stopped him from moving forwards.
The ice dome cracked and broke, revealing that it was Juvia who had stopped him using a lasso made out of water, manipulating it from far. She barely broke a sweat as she did it, looking at Gajeel who had a squirming and shouting Lucy in his arms with a nod. Gajeel didn't nod back but grunted as he proceeded to hop back ontop of the roof that they had came from, before making haste towards the base.
" NO! " Gray roared as he made ice-make stairs to chase after them with a pace that had surprised Juvia momentarily. She quickly followed him up the steps however, moving the battle to the rooftop that surprisingly had some flat space available.
Gray had tried to chase after Gajeel, getting ready to jump to the next roof, but Juvia already had an idea on how to him for a moment at least. She hoped over the edge of the roof and clasped her hands together.
"Drip drip drop."
Her rain cloud had temporarily been extended to cover more surface area, and a wall of water had smacked into Gray as he tried to jump. He had bounced back a little bit, but his face stung from the impact as he was stopped. Gray snapped his head back towards Juvia in annoyance, but the latter just stared back at him blankly as she got into position.
"Juvia cannot let you follow and hinder Gajeel's efforts."
"Get the hell out of my way," Gray spouts at the girl, but she's not deterred. When he tries to ignore her and force his way out of the water wall by freezing it and shattering it, Juvia responds with her water whip move from before, this time throwing him into the other side of the roof. His back smacks into the brick and he hisses in pain, clutching the wound that he had received from Lyon half a week ago. It was still rather tender and the wound had just closed the day before.
He gets back up soon however, this time facing Juvia head on once he realized that the woman wasn't going to let him go without a fight. The faster he's able to defeat her, the faster he's able to help Lucy and everyone else out.
"So you're the Water Element of the Element 4?" Gray snarks.
"Juvia suggests that you don't take her lightly," was all the water mage had said before disappearing into a heap of water. Gray stares at her dumbfounded, wondering where the hell she went in the middle of the rain. He wiped his face from his wet hair as he looked around in vain, until he found himself trapped in a massive water bubble, lifting him off of the floor. Juvia had appeared behind him, and used a hand to gently raise the bubble, staring through at the being trapped inside of it.
Ice.
He was an ice-mage, her opponent.
Juvia cocked her head a little bit as she observed him inside of the bubble. Wispy dark hair that seemed to have stuck up in different places. Fierce dark blue eyes that seemed to hold strong will-power in them, although she noted that he seemed to have old bags underneath his eyes. Scars, wounds, scratches were in various spots of his body. A silver chain around his neck, probably a memento of some sorts.
He's been through things, she notes.
He's been through things because he's still recovering from a rather serious wound, considering the red that she sees seep into his bandages within the bubble. He should probably be in the infirmary, resting as the others fought on.
But why was he here?
Why fight so hard, in such a state?
Over one person?
Curiosity fueling her veins, she allows Gray to freeze the Water Lock spell that she had him in as the wind blew between them, rain pressing on. She didn't make a move as she stared at him, blue hair blowing in the air with blank eyes. Or maybe they only seemed blank if one wasn't looking hard enough, Gray realized as he stared back. His arm was clasped on his re-opened wound, he really shouldn't have thought anything about it for the sake of karma, but it was already too late.
He stares, as he realized that the blue woman was watching him with curiosity, as if he was some sort of specimen.
"What?" He snaps.
It was weird, and he couldn't help it.
Juvia remains silent for a moment before quietly asking, "Why fight so hard?"
"You're the one threatening my friends!" Gray shouted incredulously. What did she mean, "why fight so hard?" They started it for fuck's sake!
"It'd be over if you just give the girl. Why fight for someone you barely know?" Juvia asked again, cocking her head once more. Gray was a bit shocked to say the least, how could someone even remotely think of betraying their other members for self-gain? Everyone who was in Fairytail deserved to be there, they all had history in some sort of fashion. Even Lucy, despite being the newest member.
He had gone through his own living nightmare with the girl, and she stood by his side. Who gives a shit if they'd only really known each other for about a month. Friendships are like an investment, when given the chance to see it through, most people take it. Gray took it and ran for the heavens, along with others that he's met with over the years.
Time plays a factor within his friendships, but it's the experiences that matter more in his opinion.
"Two days. Two months. Two years. Two hours. It doesn't matter how long I've known Lucy or how well I know her. If I consider them a friend, then I'm going to fight for them. It doesn't matter who my opponent is; man, woman, or child. Because that's how much my friendships mean to me." Gray said passionately, before taking an offensive stance once more. Juvia just looked at him in disbelief, before turning away as she feels her heart begin to pick up pace at the sound of his words. Or was it because of him? He wasn't entirely bad looking…in fact, he had a rugged handsomeness to him.
The passion that was in his voice, the pride in his tone as he spoke about his feelings about his friends, a part of her was envious. What did it feel like to have people to love and care about you, truly? He made it so believable, that it was just as easy as it was possible.
But he also doesn't have lingering rain cloud that followed after his every move, making it impossible to develop long-lasting relationships of any kind.
He doesn't have stunted emotions as a result, being unable to even determine a name for what he's feeling because he hasn't experienced it enough to know it's name.
What is the sensation that she's feeling right now?
Friendship?
Adrenaline?
Love?
It was beginning to fill her up, and she swallowed harshly as she looked at Gray before narrowing her eyes and squashing that feeling back down. Gray also took a step back in confusion at the change of demeanor, noticing that his words semed to have uplifted her in a way before she did something to stop it. Was she intentionally preventing herself from feelings emotions in battle?
Well that was one way to do it, he thinks.
It takes effort to shove whatever threatened to crawl up, back down. They were in the middle of battle, she reminds herself. This man is the enemy, no matter how…fascinating the other side was. Damn Fairytail and all they stand for. Damn her for getting interesting in its ways, after catching glimpse of what it's like on the other side.
But it's also cruel, and it's hard to relate, in a way.
All of those feelings that Gray had managed to express heartfully in his words, Juvia has never once felt them in her entire life. Ridiculed, scorned, avoided, irritated, all were negative synonyms that she's been accustomed to alluding her being to. Her presence was irritatiable to others in as little as two minutes, seconds.
The depression that has lingered in her life, into her bones feels as if it's already molded inside of her. It's apart of her now and it will forever be. Gray's words were fascinating, but it only reflected a cruel reality that Juvia will never experience.
It was the equivalent of telling someone that happiness, friendship, and love looked and felt like rainbows and sunshine on your skin, basking in a persistent glow.
Too bad the listener was colorblind.
"Ice-Make: Lance!" Gray said as he jousted forwards, piercing the lance through her skin. It just goes through her body as Juvia looks down at the action for a brief second, before Gray quickly dodges his body in order to avoid her counter-attack. He quickly backs up in order to gain more distance between them, but the storm around them was getting steadily stronger by every couple of minutes.
And damn, Gajeel has probably taken Lucy to the guild base by now. Gray curses violently in his head at the thought, and it fuels his power as he glares at Juvia.
"Water Slicer" Juvia chants as a series of strikes attacked towards Gray. He had managed to dodge all of the except the last one, he had slipped on the ground due to the rain a bit and got nicked in the side for it. He winced at the thin cut that was on his arm, but sent a wave of ice that blocked off Juvia for a moment.
"Juvia is going to ramp up the power now, it'd do best not to underestimate water." Juvia politely informs him, before turning her water strikes to the equivalent to high-powered water jets. She had them in rotation now, relentlessly attack Gray who either froze them, dodged, or took the hit. It was clear that she was the formidable opponent indeed, and it was frustrating to see that anything that he had tried to counter attack with would only go through her body.
"No one is underestimating anyone," Gray grunts as he dodges yet another strike. It suddenly hit him in the middle of his latest attack that it went through Juvia, because she was made out of water . The answer to all of his problems was right in front of him, and he wanted to curse at his own stupidity. He was normally smarter than this, it must've been the blood lost and the endless battles these days.
He spins around after the last attack, closing the distance between himself and Juvia very similar to what Gajeel had done to grab Lucy, and suddenly he was face to face with Juvia who blinked in surprise. Deep blue eyes stared at him in shock, her eyelashes fluttered as she blushed at the sudden proximity.
Gray took a step forwards and his glowing hands cupped Juvia's face into his hands as she began to slowly freeze. Frost danced across her red cheeks as she stared at him in slight awe, because when was the last time she's been willingly touched ? Her eyes watered just a bit at the feeling of another person's warmth, because she's been so cold for so long.
Deprived .
As her body froze, and she found herself unable to feel the urge to fight back, Gray looks down at her at what appeared to be confusion and a hint of pitiness in his eyes. She's not entirely surprised, it's either she was pitied or hated by her lifestyle, but it didn't matter as long as he kept touching her. She could ignore the bad-
"Look, it seems to me that you just might need a friend, maybe that'll help you see why Fairytail's fighting so hard for theirs. S'not so hard to make one, just put yourself out there." Gray said with a half-smile on his face as her body finished freezing.
Find someone to care for, and see why people fight so hard for those they love, he said wordlessly. It was clear from her questions that she didn't understand the heart of what a friendship should be, and maybe after the battle ends, she'll be able to search out for someone to call her own.
And ideally, it should've been the perfect thing to say to a person in need. A handsome man telling you to cheer up, and to go out into the world to see what it has to offer!
Find a friend, huh?
It's not so hard to make one, he says.
Juvia's eyes flash in as the rain suddenly stops. Gray lets out a startled gasp at the suddenness of it all, looking around to see if it was another person's actions that had caused the change. It wasn't anyone else however, as the sky darkens along with Juvia's eyes.
Memories flash through her mind against her will, from all of the attempts she's ever had in order to try to talk with others conversationally, nevermind actually becoming friends . Outcasted immediately, before children even knew such a word existed. Isolated into entertaining herself, being by herself as she watched the others get to run around and play. It wasn't her fault that she had a rain cloud following her ever since she could activate her magic, ever since that she could remember.
"Gloomy", "Depressing", "Dim", "Dreary".
She's heard them all before and then some.
And he says it's not so hard to make one .
It only got worse when she got older, when people started to understand that their words had power, when they started to dig deep and not hold back with their phrases. The looks of contempt and disgust never escaped their faces every time she was in their presence, even when she spiraled into totems and fortunes, tarots that would try to find a way out of the loneliness, it was all the same fate.
There was no hope and if there was no hope, then everything was meaningless and nothing else mattered. At least Phantom Lord accepted her for what she was, and even if some of the members were still the same as all before, at least she had power now. They couldn't do much, because they were weaker than her, and thus they stayed relatively tamed.
Maybe that's why it makes her emotional to see Fairytail, to see what she could've had right in front of her face. People who have clearly fought their own battles and demons, and yet they could still stand in the same presence as one another despite it. Smiling and laughing, hanging on each other as they were happy .
Jealousy races through her first, because of course when it's an environment like that, it'd be easy to make friends.
Anger comes next at the audacity, because why didn't he think that she hasn't tried ? As if she chooses to be an emotionless person that keeps to herself and keeps up a blank face. That was the only way to stop the words from getting to her, and the words from creeping out.
She doesn't even know what love feels like.
When was the last time she had a hug ?
Gray Fullbuster stands before her, gives her the first soft human touch she's experienced in what felt like eternity, and then proceeds to dismiss her reality, as if it couldn't have possibly existed in his mind. As if it wasn't possible at all .
And maybe it wasn't for him.
But they lived in different realities from the start.
The air turns hotter as Juvia's ice prison cracks before Gray's eyes. Her dark eyes are filled with what looked like small tears as she looks at Gray with raw emotion on her face, the first true expression that he's seen on her today. She looks at him as she grits her teeth, her nostrils flare, and her brows furrow heavily as steam bubbles from underneath, before breaking out of the ice completely.
Around her, she automatically summons boiling hot water that bubbles and sizzles as she sniffs at the man.
"Easy," Juvia says brokenly, "You think it is easy to find friends? Perhaps it is for you, but you fail to realize that it doesn't just take meeting others to start off friendships for people like Juvia. Because even if a room full of crowds of people, Juvia is still alone ."
And it hurt even more when she was younger, because all she had wanted to do was connect with others. To connect with others and be happier .
"You don't know a damn thing," Juvia cries before narrowing her eyes as she ran towards Gray with disdain pumping through her body, summoning a massive blast of boiling water right at his face.
Double Chapter Post, whoop whoop!
Hope you guys love reading this story as much as I love writing it.
R&R as always, I do read the reviews for this story and I thank all of you who have done so :))
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