DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fairy Tail, the honor belongs solely to Hiro Mashima-sama.
How do you combat writer's block?
Have you ever been in a time you were happily using the computer when suddenly it decides to restart itself? I have. That's why I save my work as much as I can. A friendly reminder from yours truly Daisy Broken-Straw. Now on with the show!
Chapter Seventeen
WHY
"I don't like this plan." Freed Justine muttered to everyone inside the rune wall. Happy, Anise and Lisanna all nodded their heads in agreement.
"What's there not to like in this plan?" Bixlow asked out cheerily. The dolls floated around their heads chanting "What's not to like?"
Lissana said "It's downright reckless!" Freed, Happy and Anise nodded in agreement.
"No it isn't! It's pretty simple." Bixlow countered cheerfully.
Happy shook his head and whines out "You want Freed to disable the rune wall around us. Then you and Freed will push through while Lisanna and I will fly Anise off to her sister. It's beyond simple!"
Happy took a deep breath and screamed "SINCE WHEN DID YOU START THINKING LIKE NATSU?"
Anise patted Happy's back comfortingly and said "Please calm down Happy-san. I'm sure Bixlow has a reason for such a..ahm..plan. Right, Bixlow-san?"
The masked Bixlow stood up and gestured to his dolls. Three of the dolls crowded over him and started glowing a bright light. The other two just floated from behind as if watching an interesting play.
"Don't worry. Freed and I can handle him and give you time to escape." He said all this with a conviction that made the others realize he was serious about the straight-forward plan.
"Don't worry I've got three trump cards with me!" After saying this he laughed manically with the dolls cheering around him.
All four sweat drop at his display of confidence. The Fairy Tail seith mage stood up and gestured for the others to move on and do the plan.
"Let's do this!" Bixlow said cracking his hands. His dolls twirled around and chanted "Let's do this!" over and over.
"Aye." The four said somewhat hesitantly.
As if knowing that the wall that separated them was about to disappear the reanimated dead bodies crowded around the boundary. Lisanna sighed and approached Freed, "Are you actually going to agree with his plan?"
Freed looked at the dancing form of Bixlow near Happy and Anise and nodded. "This Ajowan character strikes me as the type to plan things to the tiniest detail. I believe Bixlow's plan may surprise him."
"How come surprising him doesn't sound so reassuring?" Lisanna countered.
Freed laughed and said. "Don't worry. I'm sure Bixlow knows what he is doing. He hasn't shown us everything about his magic."
Lisanna stared at Freed inquiringly at the last bit but the rune mage refused to answer her silent question. Resigned, Lisanna stood beside Anise and Happy waiting for the right time that they would make their move.
Freed quickly wrote on 'darkness' and 'wings' on himself. Bixlow stood beside him with only three of his dolls with him. Happy was already gripping Anise by her shoulders and Lisanna was staring curiously at the two other dolls near them.
Bixlow staring at the rune wall in front of him, said. "Lisanna and Happy fly up as high as you can away from the dead and then resume normal flying altitude. Those two babies with you will shoot down any zombie that will try to capture the two of you. I already ordered them to come back to me when all goes well in your part."
Happy and Lisanna looked at each other a bit surprised that Bixlow would have thought of doing that. Lisanna asked "Is it alright for you to only use three of your dolls in fighting this guy?"
Bixlow shrugged and said "Don't worry about us just make sure you guys will be alright. We're ready Freed."
The rune mage touched the rune wall, stood back and shouted "NOW!"
Lisanna quickly took on her bird form and flew after Happy who was pulling up Anise to the sky. Just as expected the zombies made to grab them all. Freed and Bixlow were busily destroying the zombies after Lisanna and the others as well as making sure the zombies don't get to them.
Lisanna was flying up as fast as she could when a zombie caught her bird form's leg, she saw that the zombies were climbing the tree to jump on them. The take-over mage tried to shake it off when more zombies grabbed on her faster than the dolls could shoot them down, she heard Happy shouting from above and knew that a zombie must have caught Anise's legs as well.
Suddenly, she heard the girl shout out "Don't move around Lisanna! I'll get rid of them for us!"
Flying more steadily she watch on in amusement as hair spikes came from above and strikes down the zombies on her and on the tree. Free from the undead, Lisanna and Happy quickly flew off towards the beach never looking back. Never knowing that Nana had jumped from the tree and was about to strike them all down. Just as zigzagging bandages made their way to the flying figures backs, Freed intercepted it with his darkness breath and the combined laser beams of the three dolls remaining with Bixlow.
"Freed! Leave her to me you do what you gotta do." Bixlow said as he passed Freed and quickly went to fight Nana head on.
Freed quickly wrote the rune "duplicate" on himself. Soon the cemetery was filled with about 20 Freeds who quickly lured the reanimated zombies away from Bixlow, Nana and Ajowan.
"Do you honestly believe that you can defeat us by yourself?" Ajowan asked the masked Bixlow with a smirk.
"Why do you assume that I am alone?" Bixlow said with a huge grin. The three dolls near him quickly glowed at his words. "I am never alone."
Ajowan raised an eyebrow at this display and gestured to Nana to finish off the cocky man.
~0~X~0~X~0~
In the darkened beach the fight between Solana and Areca was still on the way. Not even the destruction of the beach house at the end of the beach was able to interrupt the fight. Erza Scarlet was watching carefully the fight between two of the Wolfsbane's most skilled female mages.
Areca had managed to evade the rock spikes that Solana called forth just a while ago. Jumping out from the darkness she cried, "Shadow fists overdrive!" Soon lengthy shadow arms rose from the ground, made their way to Solana's unmoving form and began smashing the woman and the ground around her. Areca smiled faintly when she saw that there was no movement from the other side, heart hammering, she quickly became one with the shadows. As she melded one with the dark, a huge boulder fell at the spot she used to be.
Coming out of the shadows she stared at the red haired earth mage who was now in front of her. "Why are you doing this Miss Solana? Rather than fighting me shouldn't you be fighting Raul in order to get the trinket first?" Areca asked politely to the older woman.
Solana chuckled and said, "Raul and I both have the same wish right now. What if I tell you the trinket has the power to heal those who have been broken? Would this explain why I am working with him?"
Areca glared at the woman, never taking her eyes off of the huge shadow she had formed behind Solana. All of a sudden Solana turned into bits of rocks that hurled themselves towards the shadow mage. Jumping back she created a shadow shield but not before she was hit by a couple of the rocks.
Staring straight ahead, Areca saw that the rocks were uniting, taking on a human's form and Solana was once again in front of her. The earth mage smiled at the younger mage, "That was the first time I actually saw you take on a strong emotion. Did I annoy you?"
Solana held out her hand to the younger mage. "Come with me Areca. You and Anise deserve to be part of the guild family. Ajowan isn't your friend nor is he a kind master. Isn't the fact that he sent you to fight me proof that he doesn't care for your well-being?"
Areca glared at Solana this time with anger, "Your mistaken! The reason why Master Ajowan left me to fight you is because he has full trust in my abilities."
The teen approached Solana and hugged the earth mage. "He believes in my power and that I am willing to do everything to insure our cause."
At the last bit, the shadows underneath the women's feet crept slowly up at them, binding the two together in the darkness.
Solana stared down at the bowed head of the girl hugging her, "You really are such a foolish child. Doing something like this, you do know that you are putting yourself in danger as well?"
Areca looked up above them to see a couple huge boulders were floating over them. As the teen watched, the boulder split itself into numerous rock spikes ready to fall on them with massive force.
Solana continued on saying, "I have full trust in my magic and my will. Do you feel the same way to your magic and yourself?"
~0~X~0~X~0~
Raul stared at the ruined house in interest. He had felt a magic engulfed the house before it had disassembled itself. The magic he felt was the very same magic he felt that had protected the house when he was attacking it. I wonder why it decided to destroy itself. Does this mean those Fairy Tail kids were able to find it? More importantly, why did Solana released such powerful magic just now?
The man scratched his head and looked on the dark waiting for something interesting to come.
"Lisanna the beach house is gone." He heard a voice say above him. Melding to the shadows of the cliff he looked up to see Anise being gripped by a flying cat, a colorful bird and two levitating dolls.
"Happy-san, please let's hurry to my sister. I feel a powerful magic onwards. I have to stop her before she does something silly!" Raul heard Anise begged to the cat holding her afloat.
As they continued on flying towards the other side of the beach, Raul Wolfia called forth a small ball of white light.
~0~X~0~X~0~
(Lucy's POV)
Why did the house suddenly destroyed itself?
But if the house really did got destroyed, how come I'm not even hurt. Shouldn't I be laying on sharp rubbles and stones right now? Yet, I'm laying down on comfortable cold ground. What's more shouldn't I be squished flat by a huge tile or something?
Maybe when I open my eyes, I really am trapped in some corner with a piece of the house just inches from falling on me and that it is only being supported by a pillar right now. I gulped in anxiousness.
I took a deep breath and slowly opened my eyes.
"Natsu?"
Above me was Natsu, straining to hold onto the wall that would have most likely crushed me.
"Oh, good you're awake. Lucy, the wall is getting heavier. Can't you call one of your spirits to help out like that cow or that scorpion tailed guy?" He said all this with his trademark grin.
A grin I've seen more than a dozen times but never this close. His face was so close to mine, I never knew that his dark eyes were actually flicked with gold.
"Lucy? Are you okay? You're really red."
Now his eyes were filled with concern, his brows almost clenched together and his warm breath fanning down me. I felt my hand twitch. I want to smooth down his frowning. My eyes enlarged as this thought crossed my mind.
THIS ISN'T THE TIME TO BE THINKING ABOUT THAT!
I screamed all this in my head as I shook my head side to side.
"Lucy what's wrong? Do you have a bug in your hair right now?"
I sighed and reached for the key that would be most useful in a situation like this. I glanced up at Natsu and said "Listen Natsu. I'm going to call for Virgo to dig us a hole from here. So until she finishes please keep on holding up that wall. Oh and can you push it up so that Virgo can fit in?"
Natsu shrugged and pushed up the wall. He looked as if he was straining to hold it up. This is bad. I heard Natsu tried to carry a pile of wood blocks back when he was helping out with the reconstruction with the guild. Gray also told me Natsu wasn't able to hold them up that long.
"I open the gate of the maiden, Virgo!"
"Hime, am I interrupting something?" Virgo asked as she appeared laying down right beside me and seeing Natsu on top of me.
"NO! Please dig us a hole. I don't think Natsu can hold up the wall for long." I said feeling my face warm up in embarrassment.
"Yes, I could! See!" Natsu interrupted and he pushed up the wall some more. Immediately dust and stones began to rain down on the three.
The silence in the cramped space was heavy with tension.
"Virgo, please." I said to the pink-haired spirit while covering my eyes from the dust falling steadily down.
"I understand, Hime."
A/N: In my quest for finding the perfect example of a good fight scene, I read the Beelzebub manga I keep in my computer. I ended up laughing out loud and reading all the manga chapters I had. Tsk. My mind is so easily taken over by different ideas it's so refreshing to just clear my mind and laughing. My friend also called me and told me to finish this story before I end up like our other friend who has the bad habit of not completing her stories just when it was getting good.
It really takes me half a day in finishing each chapter since I would keep on rereading it and deleting about a paragraph or two then rewriting it. That and stopping every now and then to open the dictionary in the computer to see if I'm using the right words.
Beelzebub, Chapter One, pp. 8 - 9: "The kind-hearted young man, all by himself, pulled the old man ashore. Then the old man split into two and from within a lively baby boy-" – Tatsumi Oga narrating.
No matter how many times I read Beelzebub I end up laughing every time the imagination comparison between Furuichi and Oga comes out. Ah, to be simple-minded like Oga.
I spent a day just reading Beelzebub by the time I got to the end of war 4 chapter, I was losing my mind at the stupidity of it all but I still couldn't stop myself from reading! Dangit!