This was a fun chapter to write, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
I don't own Fairy tail. Hiro Mashima does!
Have fun!
Jane's POV
Shit! These monsters were ridiculous. Where were they all coming from?
I made a dodging roll, narrowly avoiding the swipe of a claw, and barely made it to my feet in time to jump over the tail. My breathing was getting labored, and my back pushed up against Cana's. I could feel her lungs struggling for air just as much as mine were. I didn't know what the others were fighting, but before Erza had cut off our connection, I could see a haunting figure through her mind. The sight gave me the chills. Whatever it was, it wasn't like these things were fighting out here.
They were creepy, but they weren't strong… There were just too damn many of them.
"Cana!" I shouted. "Stand back!"
She leaped away, cutting through a couple monsters before she was a safe enough distance away. I was Laxus's daughter, so she didn't need much persuading. My chest swelled as I sucked in a giant breath, and started to growl, "Lightening Dragon's Roar!" I felt my lungs hit their peak, and lightening cackled around me before I finally released a torrent of lightening, destroying every monster within 200 feet. Cana yelled from behind me, and I barely had time to dodge a monster attacking from my backside. "Lightening Dragon's Fist!" I slammed a right hook into its jaw, and it flew back several feet, knocking out those who were unfortunate to get in its way.
Cana used a fire card, and a couple started to blaze around her. Exhausted, I fell onto one knee, and she ran to my side. She helped me back up, and I muttered a thanks. We looked out to the legions still coming toward us. There's no way these things had been here the entire time, and we never felt their presence. "Something's wrong," I told Cana.
"I know," she agreed. "It doesn't feel right."
A heavy sigh huffed out my lungs, and I sluggishly pulled from her grasp. I teetered a little, but I put my hand up to stop her from helping me. "I still have enough energy left, but after this, my power will be exhausted."
"What are you going to do?" she asked, not masking the fear in her voice.
I shot her a smile, and she frowned, knowing the look was something that both Mira and Laxus possessed. It was reeked of over confidence and evil ways, and I loved being able to copy it. "I'm going to destroy all of these monsters at once." She started to protest, but it was already too late. The air around me began to rustle, and I closed my eyes to concentrate. As my power grew, so did the gust of wind around me. I heard Cana shout something, but suddenly the air stilled, and I whispered. "Take over: God of time."
A large wind erupted from around me, and everything it touched, froze. I laughed, but even though I was surrounded by silence, it didn't echo. "Lightening Dragon Mode!" I shouted, and my body became engulfed in lightening. I cried into the night and started running, everything around me blurring. I punched, clawed, kicked, and fought my way through the horde that surrounded me moments ago.
The pathetic creatures wouldn't know what hit them.
My body grew weak from the expense of this magic, and what felt like hours fighting, was actually less than a second. I felt my body being pulled tightly, until it was taut and being snapped back into the true time around me. I landed somewhere unstably on my feet and heard a loud simultaneous cry of pain, and a dangerous, wild smirk grew on my lips. I placed my hands on my hips and turned around to admire my handiwork. "Fuck yeah! I'm awesome!"
Cana stood in the center of the horde nearly a quarter of a mile away, hundreds of bodies littered around her like wild poppies in a field. It was beautiful to me. I laughed when I saw the fear in her eyes. She hadn't expected me to just disappear and everything around her to drop dead. Literally.
"What?" I called to her, cupping my hands. "Scarlet said to trust your partners, and I'm the daughter of two of the strongest S-class mages!"
I started to move, when I realized I didn't even have the energy to stand anymore. My smile was still on my face even as I started to fall among the corpses. Cana shouted my name, and I continued to laugh at her until the darkness over took me.
Scarlet's POV
"Bastard!" Cane yelled, landing a kick at Lord Guffrey.
The creature snarled and lunged at him claws first. He leaped back, and I bolted past him, catching the full blunt of the attack with my sword. I grunted from the weight but managed to push him back. He flipped away from me, but I gave chase. Using a broken rooftop as an incline, I sprinted up it and flew into the air. My wings pushed me farther up, and I cried out as I came crashing back towards the earth, swinging my sword with all my might. The monster lifted its hands to block, but the force of my attack started to push him back. He dug his clawed feet into the ground, and they left scratches against the floor but he never fell. Realizing I was doing no damage, I flew back, landing beside Cane.
"It's no use!" he shouted. "He's too strong!"
The monster howled into the air and suddenly the shadows stopped attacking Erza and Wendy and started to form around his body. He snarled as they entered him, and his muscles began to bulge. Bones started cracking, and he roared in pain.
"What's happening?" Wendy asked, wondering the same thing as all of us.
His body was acting as a sponge and absorbing the shadows. He began to grow, and his height and width shot out another ten feet. When it couldn't take anymore, the shadows formed around its hands, and instead of only using claws, he now wielded the shadows like a sword.
"Crap!" I shouted. "As if it wasn't hard enough to fight before!"
It charged suddenly, and I lifted my sword to block. But, the force of his blow sent me flying backwards. I cried out as I slammed against the wall, my sight flashing as pain seared through every nerve. I slumped against the ground, my magic dispersing suddenly and my original armor appeared. A groan escaped me, and I heard Cane and Wendy shout incoherently.
My eyes shot up, and the beast was suddenly looming over me. Fear dominated the pain and sliced through me cold and intense. I looked into his cold dark eyes, wondering what he was like when he was human. I was petrified as I watched him lift his sword and brought it crashing down. I couldn't even look away even as another shadow leaped in front of me and took the blow.
A cry of pain broke through my daze, and I watched as my mother's body was thrashed aside by the angry beast. She was flung against another wall and slumped to the floor. Her head crashed against the marble, and her eyes shut. A pained whimper called after her, and I realized it was me. I stared at her limp, unmoving body. My heart felt as if it had been ripped open, and tears I had fought for so long were suddenly hot on my cheeks.
Cane's words whispered through my mind. At least she knows that feelings make her human. I looked up into the lost depths of what used to be a human's eyes. My own broken face reflected back. Staring back at me…it wasn't human though. It was driven by darkness and instinct. It had succumbed to the possession long ago, and everything human about it had been shut down. So, what does that make you?
The monster howled into the air and lifted its sword for another attack. I closed my eyes, my shoulders slumped, and my head dropped. Somewhere, Cane was shouting my name in a pleading voice. It was shameful. To think after everything I had worked for… I had shut my emotions out because I thought it would help me resist Morgania. I thought that if I could survive, I could save the guild, but I hadn't realized what I had actually been doing. I'd been pushing everyone I loved away.
"Scarlet, move!" Cane shouted.
"Scarlet-san!" Wendy called, fear rippling through her. "Look out!"
"No…" I whispered. "I won't move."
The monster's sword started to descend, but I kept my eyes closed. I deserved this. I deserved to be killed for thinking so selfishly. I didn't deserve to live anymore…
The blade touched my shoulder, barely scratching it before light flared around me, and the monster flew back. Raw power quivered around me, and as I stood, Wendy and Cane were knocked back. "I won't move," I said again. "Because I'm human, and I'd fight until the end for my friends. Their emotions empower me, because I'm too weak to fight on my own."
The monster jumped back to life, roaring louder than ever, his power growing at an insane rate. Darkness swirled around him, and his sword grew bigger. He started to charge, and I lifted my hands in front of me, crossing them and shouting with all my might, "Heavenly Body Magic!" The light stopped flowing around me and started to focus in front of my hands. The beast lifted his sword and swung down just as I yelled and put every ounce of energy into my attack, "Abyss Break!"
Light bloomed around us, and it felt like every star in the sky ravaged his body. Shrills filled the air, and the monster and all of his darkness were consumed by the light. He continued to shriek until the very last of him vanished from the earth. The light started to disperse, and the night quickly came back to fill the void. Magic gone, I fell, but Cane caught me in his arms.
I looked into his sweet face and reached up to cup his cheek. My thumb wiped away a tear, and he sniffled as his body shook. "You're such an idiot!" he yelled.
I chuckled. "You were right though," I said. "I'm sorry for everything I've done."
A sob tore through him, and he clutched me closer to him. His hands intertwined in my red hair, and I smiled against his chest. "Don't do that to me ever again! I thought I lost you…and I can't…I can't…"
My arms wrapped around him, and I sighed. "I know. I'm sorry."
"I'm not strong enough without my nakama!" he suddenly shouted, and I tensed. "You're all I have now. I don't want to lose you."
The power of feelings… A voice lulled through our minds. We looked at Erza, and her eyes were starting to flicker open. My heart exploded with joy when our gazes met, and I leaped out of Cane's arms and rushed towards her.
She started to smile, but I slapped it off her face. The sharp crack bounced off the walls, and she looked at me in utter confusion. My fists shook at my sides in anger, fear, pain, hurt… "Why did you do that?" I shouted at her, more hot tears running down my face.
Erza relaxed and smiled gently at me. She slowly rose to her feet, her smile never leaving. "I'm sorry. That was pretty stupid of me."
"Why did you do it?" I demanded, trembling more than I was when facing down the monster. "Why would you do that?" My voice cracked, and I started sobbing, burying my leaking hands in my hands.
"I think you know why," was all she said before I flung myself into her arms. She brushed my hair with her fingertips and held me close. My arms encircled her waist, and I hid my tears in her shirt she had been wearing before the fight. "Feelings aren't evil. It doesn't turn us into monsters, and it doesn't make us weak. It's what separates us from those trying to harm others. It's what protects us, comforts us, and drives us. The power of feelings will never let you fail; it will help you be strong in every moment of darkness."
She was right. I depended on my nakama to always be there for me. I knew why she had put her life in danger for me. It was the same reason that I had jumped in front of any of my nakama's before. "I love you!" I sobbed, not being able to take the pain in my heart anymore.
Erza—no. It was wrong to keep calling her that. My mother…she started to cry, and what felt like hours, we stood holding each other, letting every pain and fear in our hearts finally wedge itself out.
Aww...so much love. That's about it for today, but I'll have another chapter ready for tomorrow. I'm determined to finish it up before the end of summer! There's still plenty more to come though!