The Thirteenth Key
Chapter 5
The Serpent Bearer
Alexander waited for ten minutes and then re-entered the room where the two girls were. They were both standing, facing him. He coughed slightly, clearing his throat.
"I hope that you have made the correct decision," he said smoothly.
"I have a question," Lucy stated. "You do know the spell that can unseal Ophiuchus from Levy, right?"
"Of course. If you help me, then-"
"That's all I need to hear! In that case, we'll beat the answer out of you! In this room, I can cast magic, so: Open Gate of the Scorpion: Scorpio!"
"Wea!" The spirit shouted, erupting forth in a golden shower of light. Lucy saw his eyes flicker to Levy for a moment, clearly feeling the presence of the renegade spirit, but then he focussed on the man in front of him. "Sand Buster!"
Lucy saw it – the look of complete and utter contempt on Alexander's face. The cyclone of sand never struck him, instead stopping a few inches from his body. There was just enough time to proclaim surprise before he surged forward and smashed Scorpio into the floor with a single punch, causing the spirit to disappear.
"Two things you should know. First, I am very rich. I carry an expensive anti-magic charm at all times. It may not hold up against your attacks for long, but it can take a few hits like that. Secondly, I am an Edolas dragon. Even though I am human, my body still possesses greater speed, strength and durability than any normal person. You cannot beat me."
Lucy grimaced, reaching for another key but Alexander stormed forward, grabbing her hand.
"What are you doing? Help her!" Levy demanded, floating in the mental space in her mind. She was cloaked in darkness, the great black serpent winding around her loosely. The head turned to regard her with hostility.
"Your body is being destroyed by my mere presence. If I was to cast magic, I'd rip you apart."
"So?" Levy demanded. The snake's face clearly showed a level of shock, despite being expressionless. "I am a Fairy Tail mage and that is my best friend! I will do everything in my power to help her!"
"As you wish…"
"Crushing Fangs, banishing evil!" Ophiuchus shouted, moving Levy's hands into a forward position, wrists pressed together. Ebon magic whirled around her hands, forming a pair of jaws that lashed out on a serpentine body. It crashed into Alexander's shoulders and he staggered to the side under the impact, but his shield still held.
"Nice, Levy! Open Gate of the Bull: Taurus!" Taurus lowed, sweeping his axe around in a great arc. Even if magic couldn't hit, this physical blow…Alexander caught it in one hand. Rising, his expression smouldering with anger, he effortlessly disarmed the powerful spirit and used the axe to banish him. Fortunately, the axe was banished as well so that he couldn't hold on to it.
"I wouldn't do that if I was you," Alexander growled as Lucy reached for another key, nodding at the other girl. Lucy turned to see Levy on her knees. Her hands were smouldering, the skin unhealthy and black.
"Levy-chan!" Lucy cried.
"Damn it," Ophiuchus grumbled. "I told her. The tissue is beginning to necrotize. If I had access to my true power…damn it, princess! You have no choice now! You don't have the ability to destroy me with him here, and you aren't letting this girl die! Complete his bloody ritual!"
"No…I…," Lucy stammered, hanging her head in defeat. Her choices were her best friend or the father of the man she loved. She didn't know Igneel, had never met him. Levy was her closest friend. Tears dripping down her face, she whispered, "I'm sorry, Natsu."
Alexander retrieved the book detailing the seal necessary to cast the magic. Lucy studied it closely. Basically, the spell formed a link through the celestial world to the otherworldly counterpart of a person and began to leech upon their power like a parasite. If there was one silver lining, it wasn't immediate death. After this was done, they'd have a little while to figure a way out before Igneel perished. And who knew how long such a mighty beast might last? Days? Weeks?
Placing her hands on Alexander's chest, she began to recite.
"I call upon the tides of the world, drawing upon the currents that flow between the stars, joining us all at the heart. By Orion, I attach his belt between this man and his counterpart. Orion, I beseech thee! Make the link!"
For a moment, Lucy thought that nothing had happened. Alexander looked at his hands, similarly puzzled. Then his muscles began to grow, ripping the clothes from his torso. Flames began to flicker on his skin and his canines extended. Lucy was reminded of Laxus' dragon force form.
"Hahahaha! I've done it! The power of the dragon is mine!"
Lucy took a few steps back, eager to get away from him. She knelt by Levy, who by this time was virtually comatose. They only had about fifteen minutes left to complete the unsealing.
"Please! You have your end of the bargain! Please let me save Levy!" She watched as Alexander's euphoria passed and his eyes alighted on the two girls once more. She watched as his mouth twisted into an evil smile and he roared.
Lucy shielded Levy as best as she could from the crimson flames, screaming as she was burnt. She lost sense of time and orientation as the attack passed over them. Pain filled her senses. She was able to make out Levy next to her and prodded at her desperately, trying to rouse her, but she wasn't moving.
"You fools!"
Lucy looked up as flames consumed everything, an enormous shadow behind the flare. Amber irises glowed in the darkness, regarding them with such hate, such contempt.
"You dared to oppose me!?"
He roared in anger, quelling the flames and allowing a glimpse of his new ruby scales and enormous wingspan sprouting from his shoulder blades. Lucy quailed before him, frightened beyond any rational comprehension.
"I am Igneel! And you, you are dead!"
Fire began to blaze in his mouth, brighter and brighter, consuming all vision with whiteness.
Then it died away, being sucked in by the man shielding her from the fire.
"Natsu!" She cried, watching his strong back stand tall against the flames, his muffler flapping in the backwash. She looked up as Gajeel walked past, sparing a pain-filled look down at Levy before snarling in rage and walking up to join Natsu. Wendy knelt by them, trying to heal Lucy. "Don't waste time on me! Levy needs you! But, oh no, we have to get Ophiuchus out of her now! We don't have the seal and-"
"This is great," Alexander hissed. "I'm going to enjoy trying out my new strength. Dragon slayers, huh?"
Two fists took him in the face and he flew backwards through three walls before finally righting himself. Gajeel and Natsu surged forward, both roaring with anger. They had so many questions, but the only thing that mattered was that this man had hurt Lucy and Levy.
Grinning, Alexander rose to greet them. A sudden thought occurred to him. His mansion was ringed by anti-magic runes! How were they casting magic? How was he? What was going on here? He'd beat the answers out of these two. Yes, that was a good plan.
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"Wendy, what are you doing?" Lucy cried as the small slayer placed her hands on Levy's body. She began to glow with white light.
"I know what I am doing, Lucy-san. Curing the body of foreign elements is my area of expertise. I can remove the spirit inside Levy-san." Lucy felt all of her anxiety collapse with relief as the veins returned to normal, black streamers exiting Levy's body to return to the key hanging at her neck.
"Levy, Listen to me! I have to tell you a few things before I depart. My sins…"
"What is this power?" Wendy murmured as she worked. She could feel Ophiuchus assisting her healing magic as he left Levy's body, redirecting it to the most grievously injured areas. She'd never have expected such subtlety from the monstrous spirit that she'd seen at the Grand Magic Games.
Levy's eyes fluttered open and she was immediately hugged tightly by Lucy, weeping about how sorry she was for everything that had happened.
"Not now, Lu-chan! I have a lot to tell you!"
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Natsu coughed blood as Alexander's fist drove into his stomach and just kept going, dragging him through the floor and out of the wall and into the next room. He was just so strong! He didn't know how, but he could feel Igneel in him, feel the same fire that burned in his veins. And Alexander was huge now, taller than even Elfman.
"Roar of the Iron Mulph!" Gajeel's words were strangled as a hand closed around his face, causing the spell to backlash onto him instead. He emerged from the cyclone worse for wear, but with his scales up, and tried to punch but was sent back through the wall by a devastating kick. A moment later, Natsu slammed into him, thrown through as well.
"Fire Dragon's Wing Beat!" The two slayers were thrown around by the mighty attack, Natsu unable to eat any part of the fire in the time he was given. They slammed into the floor and were motionless. "hahaha! This is the power of the dragon! I coveted it for so long! It's fantastic!"
"You bastard," Natsu hissed, staggering to his feet. "I don't understand what's going on here, but you've got Igneel's power."
"Why shouldn't I take it? Your damn dragons brought us across from Edolas for their own selfish reasons. Perhaps the others were willing to cooperate, but not I. Since I was taken from my world, I took his power! Fair is fair, right?"
"I don't care about any of that. You hurt Lucy. You think that I'm just going to let you get away with that? I haven't even begun to fight yet!"
A huge slab of masonry was pushed aside as Gajeel stood up, looking like anger incarnate. "Hurt my Shrimp. Hurt my Shrimp. Hurt my Shrimp," he mumbled to himself.
"Then come on, you two! Hit me with everything you've got!"
"Wait!" Lucy, Levy and Wendy ran up behind the two slayers. It was Lucy who had spoken. "Alexander! I understand that you are angry with the world, but so far the only people you have hurt is us. If you stop now and let me reverse the spell on you, we can end this."
Natsu and Gajeel didn't look particularly happy with the concept, but were struck by the girl's willingness to forgive.
"Hahahaha! Do you really think that you can beat me?" Alexander mocked. "I am Igneel! Once I've fully absorbed this power, I will be complete. Two worlds, but only one me! Immortal, unstoppable!"
"I've given you fair warning," Lucy said with a fierce smile. "I've had a brief conversation and I've got someone new, ready and willing to show you up. Open Gate of the Serpent Bearer: Ophiuchus!"
The serpent is not Ophiuchus' true form. Like Pisces, he has another. The serpent bearer was light as well as darkness. Chosen as the symbol of the medical profession, he had two faces. One was death, destruction. The other was healing, rebirth.
Ophiuchus' sin was to grant healing magic to the world. Initially meant only for dragons, he also gave it to the humans, feeling pity for the primitive creatures. As such, all healing magic stems from the serpent. The king in a fit of rage banished Ophiuchus for giving such a gift to such an unworthy species. Since then, the king's opinion had changed with the millennia, but the banishment had never been lifted.
Ophiuchus had been alone for so long that he no longer wanted company. He just wished to fade away into oblivion. He had felt pity for the orphan Yukino and granted her his power. And feeling the bonds of friendship from Lucy and Levy had awoken something in the spirit. This was why he had helped the humans; he had felt their spirit, their resolve, and it touched him deeply.
He was ready to rejoin the world.
He took the form of an older man, sporting white hair and beard. He wore scaly armour, half white, half black, split down the middle. Each shoulder pad was a serpent's head, ebony and ivory representing his dual role. He wielded a Japanese halberd in his right hand and waves of healing magic radiated from him. All the Fairy Tail mages felt their injuries lessen and their magic replenish a little.
"You little bitch!" Alexander roared. "How can any of you cast magic here?"
"That was me, I'm afraid," Levy declared. "Before we entered your house, I noticed your runes and slipped a time delayed counter into them in case you betrayed us. It took an hour to go off, and will be in effect for the next hour!"
"That's my Shrimp! Gihi!"
"You hurt Lucy. You hurt Levy. You are still hurting Igneel. I'm going to kick your ass!" Natsu shouted, bathed in flame and lightning at the same time.
"Solid Script: Fire, Lightning, Iron, Shadow!" Levy shouted, writing four words in quick succession. The slayers began to ingest them, power swelling.
"I'm not going to give you the chance!" Alexander shouted, stepping forward. He blinked as Ophiuchus was in his face with extreme speed.
"I am Lucy's spirit now! No one will hurt Fairy Tail! Yinyang Blade, Balancing Strike!"His halberd swept into Alexander, surrounded by a black and white aura. Alexander staggered but didn't fall, looking up in time to see…
"Sky Dragon's Wing Slash!" Wendy slashed her arms downwards, twin cyclones sending the Edo-dragon through a wall. Damn slayer magic! He could feel how it was the antithesis of his own power. Wait, why was it so dark in this room? The light was on, but it didn't reach the floor. A daemonic face appeared out of the gloom, a hand grabbing his throat.
"This…this is for hurting Levy. Iron-Shadow Dragon's Club Barrage!" Out of the shadows, a hundred fists materialized brutalizing Alexander from every conceivable angle. As they came, they solidified and hardened into metal, pounding, hurting. At last Gajeel relented and threw him back out into the main room.
"This is for Igneel! Thunder-Flame Dragon's Brilliant Flame!" Natsu slammed Alexander down through the floor, a huge section of building coming away, the ceiling also collapsing to reveal the sky. He fell with him, seething with rage. "And this is for Lucy! Thunder-Flame Dragon's Roar!"
"W-wait a minute!" Lucy cried as the building was coming apart in a titanic ball of fire and lightning. Lucy, Levy and Wendy turned to run as the floor gave way. In swooped three shapes and the trio of girls found themselves borne aloft by the three Exceeds, up and away from the attack.
"What would you and Natsu do without me?" Happy asked cheekily.
"Probably get in all sorts of trouble!" Lucy replied, smile beaming with the relief and joy of the moment. Looking down, the mansion was a ruin. She could see Natsu and Gajeel applying a few 'finishing touches' to Alexander and looked up slightly to see Ophiuchus smiling at her. He began to vanish, returning to his world.
If you need to talk, princess, I will be listening.
"Thank you, Ophiuchus!"
A/N: Do people like the direction I took Ophiuchus? I was using the actual history of the constellation, and his hair is supposed to evoke the feel of the ancient Greeks, though I went for Japanese weaponry. I wanna try and draw a pic of his human form – we'll see.
BTW, try reading the final fight to 'Fairy Tail Victory Theme'. It's how I wrote it! Gihi!