Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. Hiro Mashima does. This story was made for fun, and not for cash. (How unfortunate.)
Chapter 19: Darcy, Part 3 (The last part of the arc)
Lucy woke up in her room that she shared with Yukino at the inn, and she had been trying to feel better about the new Darkness Magic that she could use. She felt the sunlight's warmth come down on her face, prompting her to smile as it reminded her of the day she had promised herself that she would become a stronger person. Today was the 2nd day of the Grand Magic Games, and Lucy looked determined to win again like she had done yesterday. Not only for her sake, but to show Sting that they hadn't trained so hard for nothing.
She wanted to make him feel pleased with her, liking her new talents, and Lucy loved to hear Sting be proud of her. He had even congratulated her last night for winning the first event of the Grand Magic Games, and Lucy had giggled a bit while blushing when he had also given her a gentle kiss on the cheek. She loved to know that Sting was supporting her throughout this tournament, and he would also help her out with the mysteries of her strange book of spells. Lucy did need his help with the Darkness Magic, after all.
Truth be told, she actually felt a bit nervous about unleashing that type of magic again because of how much control it had lacked. The spells certainly were pretty powerful like all the other moves in the other five types of magic, but at least they were controlled enough to not hurt people. She still could not fathom how the spells had managed to hurt her friends like Gray and Cana, especially when the event was about appealing with spells. She wasn't trying to assassinate anyone, so what had happened?
That scene on the first day just reminded her about what had happened on the day of the preliminary event that was supposed to transpire, but it had been canceled because of Lucy's Dark Optica spell taking out so many teams. She had to wonder what was going on with these spells, why they were unleashing such dangerous effects, and Lucy had used her spells for good purposes. She sighed sadly while wondering what the book was trying to tell her, and Lucy looked a bit depressed as she wondered if this type of magic would ever listen to her.
It had seemed so cold when she had used it, almost like she could a different presence within this magic, and Lucy did not know what it had meant. Her spells of Darkness Magic had always made her lose consciousness, her eyes turning purple to show that Darcy would be taking control whenever the spells were used by Lucy, and the blonde mage really began to question herself about using these spells. Was this the type of magic that she should really avoid, or was it just like a messenger to her that was foreshadowing something more?
There wasn't anyone who was after the book, so it could not be warning her to get stronger for something. Besides, no one else other than Lucy could even read the strange spell book. It had been sealed for a pretty long while after its original owner had become deceased, and this book had curses on it for protection. The curses were also for caution as well, and whoever had created the book wanted it to be in the hands of someone with a soul that was pure like the sound of a beautiful silver bell.
That person also needed a kind heart of gold as well, a quality that Lucy definitely had, and she was still a bit shocked at the fact that she could read all of the olden languages in the spell book. She had not even seen them before, and yet reading the characters was like seeing words in simple Japanese kanji. Did the book have some kind of translating abilities on it for its wielder, or was there something else behind that mystery? Lucy had also wondered why the book had chosen her, and not someone like Levy, but trying to make logical theories out of something illogical would probably make her brain blow a fuse.
She slowly got out of bed to see that the bathroom light was on with the sliding door closed, and Yukino hummed happily while taking a shower. Lucy thought that it would be rude to intrude on her like that to just greet her, and the blonde mage had a soft smile on her face while knowing that she could wait. She was still happy to be in the Grand Magic Games with Yukino and the rest of her new crew, prompting Lucy to happily dance around for a few seconds. She hoped that her new guild would win this thing, and she would definitely try to be a good contributor.
As she smiled with happiness in her brown eyes, going over to the window to open it for some fresh air, Sting exclaimed in a confident manner while entering the room with all of his other teammates, "Good morning, Lucy! I hope you're totally psyched up about today, especially since it's the second day of the Grand Magic Games! We won't have a repeat of last year where we got absolutely no points at all, and I plan to dedicate my new moves to you! I hope you'll like my strategies today, my sweet cupcake."
Lucy replied happily while running over to Sting to give him a hug of delight, happiness twinkling in her cocoa brown eyes, "Sting, you are the sweetest guy that I have ever met! You are so awesome, and I will definitely be rooting for you. I don't know what the event will be this year, but I know that either you or me can do well in it if we believe in ourselves and go forth with unyielding determination. After all, that's what a winning team is all about."
While Lucy got the purple spell book out of the bottom drawer of the nearby brown dresser, she blushed a bit from hearing her stomach growl loudly once again. If her feelings were talking to Sting, then her stomach could do it as well. He chuckled a bit from hearing her belly bark, but Sting knew that it was natural for his girlfriend to now have an appetite. She had absorbed Earth Dragon Slayer Magic in the Desert Resort, you know, and that probably made Lucy have the appetite of a dragon slayer as well.
She had also made a green tornado of wind surround only her body while the wind helped her changed clothes, censoring her body for a few moments, and the tornado quickly vanished to reveal Lucy's new outfit. She wore a simple orange T-shirt with a purple miniskirt, and her flat shoes were blue. She always was pretty fashionable, and Sting smiled at her choice of colors. As her stomach growled once more for food, Lucy ran out of the room with everyone else while knowing that Yukino would catch up with them.
Meanwhile...
Lisanna had asked Natsu to meet with her at a donut shop in Crocus, and let's just say that she wasn't exactly pleased about him not participating yesterday. She wasn't really angry about Lucy getting ten points for Team Sabertooth in the appealing event, but she was miffed that Gray was in the event. She had wanted Natsu to be up on that stage before it had gotten destroyed, and he was actually creative at showing off his Fire Dragon Slayer Magic. However, showing off his arrogant side with his moves is not what Lisanna wanted at all.
She was also displeased with the fact that Gray had earned a higher score than Cana, getting eight points instead of the six that she had received, and Natsu could not control what Gray had done. It was not his fault that Gray's biggest ice-making rival named Lyon Vastia had volunteered to participate for Team Lamia Scale yesterday, and the fire dragon slayer had no control over their rivalry. Even so, he still owed Lisanna for using her to make Lucy jealous. He had also chosen his pride over their love, making her really hate him.
Their deal had actually involved quite a humiliating thing for Natsu. He really hated the fact that he had to agree to a deal like this, but he also had to gain Lisanna's trust back to really get his name cleared in Fairy Tail. He knew that this deal would make him be in huge trouble with people like Erza and Laxus, but Lisanna had also made a special rule about this deal. He could not snitch on her about it to anyone, including people on the other teams. She wanted this side deal to be kept secret, since it benefited her and the rest of Team Fairy Tail B.
Lisanna even thought that Lucy would get a laugh out of this deal, and Natsu had not been agreeing to it at all. The first day may have been the start, but Lisanna wanted that to be the start of where Natsu would show her that he had changed into a much better guy. Now he seemed like the shady type of snake who would make other people do his dirty work for him, since he hadn't participated yesterday, and that was another thing that Lisanna could have as blackmail in their little side deal.
She was not becoming evil at all, but Lisanna wanted Natsu to know that giving pain to someone did not come for free. Acting rude to someone and kicking her out of the team, only to make her jealous and torture her in the most emotional ways, was pretty sick. Natsu should not have been so arrogant to stoop that low to brag about his new relationship to Lucy, and he was lucky that his bullying had not made her become weak or submissive to him. Otherwise, she would have taken the easy way out.
He had been having his head down while they sat across from each other at the table, not even eating anything because they already had breakfast, and Natsu knew that he had to make things right with his current ex-girlfriend. Keeping this deal from his team was like asking Erza to beat the crud out of him, and he didn't exactly feel too pleased about Lisanna manipulating him like this. Well, he had to get what he deserved for using her as a means to make Lucy envious. Karma sure hated him, didn't it?
"Lisanna, come on. This is really unfair, and Erza would kill me for it. You know how scary she can be. I didn't participate on the first day because I did not want to give it away so fast. Please forgive me for that. I swear that I'll do it today, and you'll get to see me show how I was wrong to use you like that. I'm sorry about hurting you, but at least give me some of your trust." Natsu whined while looking disappointed at the situation that he had gotten himself into by being a total jerk towards Lucy and Lisanna.
The white-haired mage responded sternly, narrowing her blue eyes at Natsu, "You haven't shown me that you even deserve my trust, Natsu, and you were just using me like a tool to make Lucy jealous. You know, if we had become friends, you'd just be asking me if she said anything about you. Lucy does not care about you anymore, and I am doing this because you want my trust back. If you want to earn someone's trust, then you must hold up the end of every deal. Do that with this one, or I'll reveal a lot about you."
Natsu looked at her in a shocked way, not believing what he was hearing, and the fire dragon slayer looked embarrassed at the thought of Lisanna revealing what they had done in their relationship. She'd tell everyone in the Domus Flau, and those people would let the entire world know what had gone on when the nights were cold. He did not want every other girl in Fiore to think that he was kind of wild guy in bed, and Natsu knew that Lisanna was smart enough to have kept a Videotape Lacrima Crystal around.
He had hoped that fate would be on his side today, probably making Lisanna miss the Grand Magic Games or something, and Natsu looked at the clock on the wall. The current time was 9:04 in the morning, and the second day of the Grand Magic Games would begin at 9:20 in the morning. Seeing that he had to get moving, since Erza would scold him greatly if he was late, Natsu quickly left the donut shop to head to the arena. He wanted to get away from Lisanna and her deceptive ways, which was ironic since he had once deceived her into thinking that they had a real love.
10 minutes later, at the Domus Flau…
The members of Team Sabertooth had made it to the Domus Flau in time, not wanting to miss any part of the action, and Yukino had finished her shower fast enough to join up with her teammates. She did not want to miss out on today, either, especially since the second day was the day where she had fought Kagura Mikazuchi last year and lost while all of her Celestial Spirits were defeated. Even the great Serpent Bearer known as Ophiuchus was defeated by a single slash of a sheathed sword, and Yukino sadly looked down while remembering how overconfident she had been.
She wasn't the only one who was somewhat down, you know. Lucy still looked a tad bit nervous about the event and battle today, wondering if her Darkness Magic would be as destructive as it was yesterday, but Lucy did not even realize that it would probably end up being her possibly best trump card for when major enemies came around. She hoped that it would listen to her commands, since she had actually wanted yesterday's spells to make purple glitter form the shape of a large heart instead of all those explosions.
Lucy opened the purple spell book to find that the last four spells of Darkness Magic had been written, and she widened her cocoa brown eyes in pure shock. She had no knowledge of ever doing anything to make the book see her personal growth with this type of magic, so why had it given her these four new spells to use? Lucy somehow found them to be useful in their own ways, sensing this eerie feeling from them, and the magic also seemed so strong. However, the names of the spells did not sound explosive at all.
Chapati exclaimed while looking excited about the upcoming action today, "Welcome to the second day of the Grand Magic Games, everybody! Yesterday, Sabertooth showed us how dark and enchanting they can be when it comes to appealing! They are currently in the lead with 20 points, but the Fairy Tail teams are not too far behind with their scores of 18 points and 16 points! Let's see how the fierce rivalry between these two guilds will turn out, everybody!"
"Sabertooth was certainly impressive on the first day, I'll say that." Yajima commented in a calm tone while folding his arms.
"Hello, people! My name's Jason from Sorcerer Magazine, and I'm the guest judge for the second day! I am definitely going to get the DVD for this year's Grand Magic Games, because Lucy Heartfilia's dark appeal was just so interesting and cool! It was like seeing something from some kind of weird dream, yet it was just so cool!"
The crowd began to cheer wildly, knowing that today's event and battles would probably be exciting and thrilling to watch. All of the teams were in their respective booths, and Karen looked over at the area where Lucy was located. The woman with silvery-blue hair had her eyes fixated on the young blonde maiden, interested in seeing how those last four spells of Darkness Magic would work, and Karen knew that the sixth seal had already been broken. She just wanted to see the power that Lucy would display, even if they had to face each other.
Chapati announced that today's event would be known as "Pillar Battle." According to his description of the event, a large pillar of earth would be created from magical power and the contestants would be elevated to its highest heights. On the large top of the pillar, they would have to battle each other with all kinds of spells being allowed. Anyone who fell off the pillar or got knocked out would receive a certain number of points, and this event had some similarities to the Naval Battle from last year.
Sting told his team with a confident look on his face, smirking mostly at Lucy, "This is totally my area of expertise, guys! I'm gonna make up for what I did last year in the Chariot event, trust me! I'm going to use Holy Ray to make those guys see the light and hit the ground, and there's no way that I'll lose!"
Before anyone could even debate with him about it, Sting jumped down on the sandy battlefield and waited to see whom his opponents would be. Even though he had no clue who was going to be selected, Sting told himself to give it 120% since he was doing it for Lucy. After all, she had done the previous event to impress him. Sting had enjoyed her explosive and gravitational tricks, even though neither of the mages had any clue that Darcy was the one doing it to simply break the seal on her magic.
"There's Sting, guys! He's a smug jerk, and I'm gonna make him pay for letting his stupid girlfriend berate me the way she did in front of an entire audience yesterday! When I burn that guy to a crisp, let's hear what Lucy will say about that! I don't care about what she's going to think, especially since I'll be going after her next! She won't stop me from winning another fight, and I'll win against Sting!" Natsu shouted with an extremely angry look on his face, before jumping from the booth where Team Fairy Tail A was located.
Since this event had combat on a pillar, Mira knew that she wouldn't be breaking any rules by being on the pillar before transforming into one of her Satan Soul Take-Overs to fly above the pillar. She could also destroy it with a move like Soul Extinction, making everyone else fall down to the ground while she would claim the ten points for her team. Of course, even if she got the highest amount of points, it would not matter much to Lisanna. She just hoped that Natsu would follow her orders, or else he'd regret it.
Yuka Suzuki volunteered for Team Lamia Scale since his Wave Magic might be useful, and Eve decided to participate once again since he could use snow to create a slight advantage for himself. Karen from Team Sweet Melancholy had chosen a girl named Hiruda Saikuron to participate in this event, simply to get it over with for the chance of Lucy fighting to soon begin, and Arania Webb had volunteered to be in this event for Team Mermaid Heel. Nobarly from Team Quatro Cerberus had decided to participate as well, completing all the selections.
To satisfy the spectators and teams, Lacrima Vision screens appeared in the air to show them what was happening in full view. This also made it easy for the judges to replay some parts of the event in slow motion to see who fell off the pillar of earth first between two people for certain rankings, should there appear to be ties. This would also allow them to see if anyone was trying to cheat while they were high above the Domus Flau, and grabbing on to the pillar while falling also counted as a means of getting disqualified from the event.
When everyone had stepped forward for the event, Mato commanded the playing field to appear and everyone seemed slightly startled when they heard rumbling sounds coming from underneath them. In an instant, the pillar rose up from the ground and everyone stood on its circular peak. As each person saw clouds not far above him or her, they immediately gulped and looked worried for each other from seeing the long way down to the sandy battlefield of the Domus Flau. Would anyone win, let alone be lucky enough to survive if they lost?
As the gong was struck to signal for the event to begin, Natsu immediately glared at Sting and proceeded to attack him with Fire Dragon's Roar. However, Hiruda from Team Sweet Melancholy unleashed loud sound waves that diverted the fire dragon slayer's move away from Sting. Instead, it hit Nobarly from Team Quatro Cerberus and he looked shocked while losing his footing. He fell off the pillar, but he luckily managed to hold on to it to avoid the risk of being broken in pieces from falling so far down to the Domus Flau. Team Quatro Cerberus earned no points, sadly.
Sting used his White Dragon's Roar to knock off Arania from Team Mermaid Heel, and the green-haired woman screamed in fear while falling off of the pillar. However, she shot down a lot of webs on to the ground, since they all grew with distance, and she landed on a soft cocoon of her webbing. Arania gained only one point for Team Mermaid Heel, and she got seventh place in the event. With only six competitors left on the pillar of earth now, could things get any more exciting or interesting than this?
While Natsu couldn't get close to Hiruda because of her unleashing her loud sound waves in his path, Yuka Suzuki from Team Lamia Scale had managed to hit Eve Tearm from Team Blue Pegasus with a Wave Seal to make his magic become useless. He smirked a bit while pushing Eve off of the pillar, only to quickly receive his karma from Sting using White Dragon's Roar to send him falling. Team Blue Pegasus earned two more points while Team Lamia Scale had earned three, but who would emerge victorious?
With only half of the competitors remaining, and also upon seeing that Natsu was in trouble, Mirajane quickly went into her normal Satan Soul form to try and help him out. She could see him covering his ears, since Hiruda could scream at such a high frequency, and Natsu's enhanced hearing wasn't making it any better for him. He fell to his knees, but looked surprised to see Mira grab his foe from behind. Hiruda had waist-length black hair, and she wore some blue jeans with some yellow high heels. Her eyes were blue, too.
Mirajane threw Hiruda down to the ground, only to hear her opponent scream loudly and cushion herself with the air from her sound waves. The air went into the ground, making it as soft as a feather cushion, and Hiruda hardly felt a thing when she hit the ground. She hadn't even taken damage, but the pawn of Karen knew that the woman with silvery-blue hair would even the score for Hiruda. Karen smiled down at her pawn for earning at least four points for Team Sweet Melancholy, and her deceptive ways went into action while she evilly smirked.
As Mirajane flew down to the pillar, now watching Sting and Natsu glare at each other before they started to trade blows, Mira's shadow spread out around her. She looked curious about what was happening, and the distending shadow had restricted her abilities to move. Mira suddenly began to sink down into the shadow, and she could not pull herself out of it. She called out to Natsu, wanting his help, but the fire dragon slayer was far too busy trying to hit Sting in the face for having a smug look on his face.
Natsu looked shocked to see his blond rival jump up into the air, and Sting unleashed a new move known as White Dragon's Little Bombs. It was inspired by one of Lucy's attacks, most likely the Fiery Embers spell from her Fire Magic, and it made Sting shoot out seven small spheres of light from his mouth. They all landed near Natsu, some even rolling an inch to get under him, and this spell made many harmless blasts of white light transpire. Natsu was blinded, unable to see a thing, and he couldn't even tell where Sting's Holy Ray attack came from when he hit him with it.
The fire dragon slayer almost fell off the pillar as the light faded away, but he managed to stay on it while looking infuriated at Sting. The white dragon slayer came back down on to the pillar, and he gave Natsu a serious glare like this fight was going to be his last. After all, Sting had heard it from Lucy about how much Natsu had insulted her. He had even treated her like dirt, only to make her feel so depressed, and messing with somebody else's emotions was one of the sickest things that anyone could ever do. Sting would definitely voice his opinion, though.
Natsu shouted while looking fierce, as he ran towards Sting with flames engulfing his fists, "Don't try to pull any sneaky moves with me, you bastard!"
Sting replied with a stern look on his face, as he made balls of white light engulf his fists while dodging all of Natsu's attacks, before delivering a powerful uppercut to his opponent's chin to send him up into the air, "You obviously don't know how to treat people, Salamander! You can't say that I'm a sneaky rat when you pretty much kicked Lucy off the team and wanted to make her sad for your own personal gain! You even called her weak, yet she almost defeated you in Fairy Tail!"
"How the hell do you know about that, you damn moron?!" Natsu asked whilst looking both angry and shocked at the fact that Sting knew about something that hadn't even been spread far from Fairy Tail or Magnolia Town.
"Lucy told me all about it, you stupid idiot. We met by chance in Castelia Town on the day after you dumped her for that silver-haired chick, and Lucy told me how you ignored her and replaced her like she was trash! It's sick to get humor from someone else's misfortune, you know! People like you are definitely scum, Salamander!" Sting explained coldly, keeping his stern facial expression while activating White Drive and preparing to use a new move.
"You honestly act like I should give a crap about someone who was bringing down my team, even though my dispute with Lucy has nothing to do with you! She can continue being the useless loser that she is, and you can get the hell off of this pillar! After you get second place, get a consolation prize from your crappy girlfriend!" Natsu exclaimed, as he grew even angrier and attempted to blast Sting away with his Fire Dragon's Sword Horn.
As Natsu came towards Sting, the blond mage knew that no one would get away with talking bad about Lucy. Narrowing his blue eyes, Sting made all of the light swirl around his left fist. When Natsu got close enough, Sting hit him with that fist and something incredible began to transpire. The white light swirling around Sting's fist turned a large white vortex of swirling light, and it hit Natsu head-on while forcing him out of the flames that engulfed his body. He also took damage from this attack, a large white blast of light occurring on the pillar that was now breaking apart, and Natsu had fallen off the pillar while it was still intact.
The light made many shadows be seen on the battlefield, one shadow bringing Mira back to the Domus Flau, and she was unconscious while having earned six points for Team Fairy Tail B. Natsu earned eight points for Team Fairy Tail A, and Sting had managed to get ten points for Team Sabertooth. The pillar crumbled to the ground, magic being used to levitate and heal any contestants who were falling or had been hurt from that high fall, prompting Chapati and his fellow judges to stop the event right there.
The rubble of the pillar vanished into a large puff of white smoke, and the participants for the event went back to their respective booths where their teammates were waiting for them. People had seen and heard Natsu's conversation from the Lacrima Vision screens, and many male fans of Lucy booed at him while also shouting swear words. Lisanna was really mad at him for not only continuing to not uphold their deal, but the fire dragon slayer had let Mira get captured by a mysterious shadow when she was begging him to help her. What a really dense guy, huh?
"Sting, that was really amazing! You were awesome out there, and I love how you smile onscreen! You're the best battler in the entire world, Sting! You stood up for me against that jerk, and I'm so lucky to have you as a boyfriend! I really love you!" Lucy told him with a happy smile on her face, after Sting jumped back up into Sabertooth's booth and did some victory poses for her.
"I did it all for you, my blonde-haired beauty. After all, I refuse to let anyone speak ill about my girlfriend and get away with a big win. Now that Natsu's riled up with the fact that you and I both managed to kick his butt, I wonder if he'll invade our inn and challenge Sabertooth like he did last year." Sting replied while sharing a hug of victory with his girlfriend, and putting a dreamy look on her face when she blushed pink like cotton candy and seemed like she could swim in his eyes that were blue like the ocean.
Now that the event was over, Lucy had to wonder if she would have to fight today. The new spells of Darkness Magic hadn't been tested out by her, and she didn't know why those spells made her lose consciousness. She also did not want to reveal her other types of magic before the final day or before the fated day when she faced Natsu, so Lucy had only her Darkness Magic and Celestial Spirit Keys to rely on today. Could she win with just those two types of items at her disposal, or would she lose like back in the Naval Battle when Minerva stole her keys?
10 more minutes later…
"All right, everyone! It's time to start the battle portion of the second day, and I have a feeling that these battles will be thrilling to watch!" Chapati exclaimed with an excited facial expression, as the overwhelming thrill made him stand on his chair with the microphone in his hands.
The first battle was between Hiruda Saikuron from Team Sweet Melancholy and Jenny Realight of Team Blue Pegasus. Jenny smiled confidently while she was about to transform into an outfit that could make Hiruda's sound waves resonate and be used against her, but the green-haired woman giggled evilly before she snapped her fingers and sent a large sound wave towards Jenny. It caused an explosion, sending her flying out of the arena, and Hiruda won the match to gain ten more points for Team Sweet Melancholy.
The second battle pitted Kagura Mikazuchi from Team Mermaid Heel against Rocker from Team Quatro Cerberus. When this match had begun, Rocker had used his Drill 'n Rock Magic to make drills of wind form around his legs for high speed. He charged towards Kagura quickly, but she dodged his attack with slight movements before slashing at him with her sword still sheathed. The air wave was powerful enough to send Rocker crashing into a wall, and Kagura won the match. She gained 10 points for Team Mermaid Heel, and those points were desperately needed.
Chapati announced while looking extremely thrilled for this next battle, as he had the small white piece of paper in his hand with the list of matches on it, "This next battle is a total thrill, everybody! It might get intense, especially since it's between two talented guilds! Lucy Heartfilia from Team Sabertooth versus Yuka Suzuki from Team Lamia Scale! This should be interesting!"
When her name was announced, Lucy immediately gulped while looking a bit nervous at the match up. Was she ready to take on the guy who could seal away an opponent's magic like how he had once done to Nobarly from Team Quatro Cerberus in last year's Grand Magic Games? On top of that, his abilities with Wave Magic could be really dangerous if they were also used offensively. Either way, the blonde mage would be in a pretty tight situation here. However, forfeiting before the match had even started would not be a good option.
Besides, Lucy was going to show Sting that all of their training had not gone to waste. She was going to impress him with her new moves and her golden keys while also letting her ex-boyfriend Natsu see that she was not as weak as he thought she was. Lucy smiled at Sting for a moment, confidence filling up her cocoa brown eyes, and she jumped down from the booth where Team Sabertooth was located to be on the sandy battlefield. Even Erza and Gray were rooting for her to not lose, giving her more encouragement.
As a gong was struck to signify the beginning of the third match, Lucy pulled out Scorpio's Celestial Spirit Key to start things off. She narrowed her brown eyes while summoning him on to the field, noting that she could use the sand like how she had done last year in her match against Flare Corona from Raven Tail, and Lucy also pulled out Virgo's key from the brown pouch that was located in the left pocket of her purple miniskirt. She also planned to use Virgo's Chain Magic to bind Yuka's hands, too.
Scorpio got down on all four limbs like a real scorpion would, and then he smirked a bit while pointing his scorpion-like stinger at Yuka. A large amount of sand was subsequently fired from it in the form of a powerful sand vortex, which moved towards the Lamia Scale mage in a straight line and almost struck him with great blunt power. However, he grinned arrogantly while simply having his Wave Shield completely block the attack. Yuka then proceeded to use his Wave Seal move on Scorpio, the Static version of it, and the Celestial Spirit's magic was sealed away for the duration of the battle.
This frustrated Lucy, having messed up the first part of her plan to win the match, but she also knew that Virgo was still out on the field. If she could just get Yuka's hands chained up, then everything would be fine. She nicely ordered Virgo to shoot out some iron chains from her hands, complete with grappling hooks at the end, and Lucy knew that this match would be over if she could tie up Yuka. However, the blue-haired man simply used his Wave Rush attack to cancel out Virgo's Chain Magic while also hitting her with an attack that created a powerful explosion.
Virgo was nearly unconscious from taking the full brunt of that Wave Rush, and Lucy returned the pink-haired spirit back to her world. This was definitely a tough fight, especially against someone who could seal away magic and also attack with it at the same time. Lucy didn't want to have to rely on the Darkness Magic, knowing how it could be pretty scary, and Yuka would probably just seal away her other types of magic. She didn't know what to do, and Lucy couldn't look up fast enough from her thoughts to see that Yuka hit her with a Wave Rush attack!
It slammed her against the wall, making her cough up some blood from the powerful force of the attack, and Lucy also looked shocked at her opponent's quick skills. He hastily used Wave Shield to trap her inside of an energy wave, draining her magical power, and this move also prevented Lucy from using any magic while being inside of the wave. She could feel her powers being nullified, leaving her completely defenseless, and Lucy began to have her doubts about being able to win this match. With no magical power, what could she do?
"Don't give up, Lucy! I know that you can beat this guy! I know how scared you are about using that Darkness Magic, knowing how powerful it is, but that does not matter! So that type of magic has a different feel to it, but so what? You proved that you were proficient in the other types of magic when you went up against Hikari, Suna, Natsu, and even me! That book reacts to the feelings in your heart more than anything else, you know! Believe in yourself, Lucy, because I believe in you!" Sting shouted to her with a stern look on his face, as his hands gripped the railing tightly while he did not want to see her be defeated.
Lucy had her doubts about that, but then she looked up at Sting and locked her frustrated cocoa brown eyes with his stern blue eyes for a moment. Everyone in the stadium was silent while this was going on, and Lisanna even looked a little amazed when she noticed them communicating just through eye contact. Their chemistry had grown to that level, but what would it bring?After a few moments, Lucy smiled and assurance replaced the frustrated look in her eyes. A smirk of confidence appeared on her face, causing Sting to have a poised facial expression as he gave her a thumbs-up and smiled back at her. He watched his girlfriend turn back towards Yuka, and Lucy had definitely come up with something brilliant while using the non-spell ability of gravity to dispel the Wave Seal.
"There's no chance of you winning this match, and nothing can help you now!" Yuka told his opponent in a cocky manner while grinning at his supposed victory over a barely standing Lucy.
Everyone wondered if it was over for the brown-eyed girl, since she was just having her two hands stretched out in front of her with her palms facing up towards the sun, but Lucy was actually absorbing gravity into her hands for some magical power to recharge her body. She was also inhaling some air, allowing the non-spell ability of Wind Magic to come into play as well to fully replenish her supply of magical power, and that certainly surprised Wendy and Chelia. A purple aura engulfed Lucy's body while she concentrated her emotions into the Darkness Magic, embracing its power instead of fearing it this time, and the book allowed Darcy's spirit to take over.
The purple aura now entered Darcy's mouth, allowing her to consume all of it, and she currently had control over Lucy's body. She had the blonde hair obscuring her amethyst purple eyes, not wanting to be found out by spectators like Gray and Juvia, and Darcy grinned evilly while beginning to giggle in a very dark manner. She was going to let Yuka know that this match was finally getting started for real, and she had an alternative way of getting past the Wave Magic. If she couldn't attack from up close or hit him, why not think outside the box?
She took a deep breath while calming down a bit, and then she began to sing in a ghostly town that surprised everyone, "The ruin in which is no sun, it leaves the spirit of death that was forgotten. The cold spirit that haunts you, it is nothing more than my Dark Optica. Close your eyes and rest now, since the grave's power will make sure you no longer wake up in this world." (Basically, the melody of the song sounded similar to Lavender Town's music in the Red, Blue, and Yellow versions.)
Yuka did not understand what was going on at first, until Darcy slowly lifted the blonde hair over her left eye to show him that it was amethyst purple instead of being cocoa brown. She began to point her index fingers outward, waving them from left to right like metronomes, and this was obviously the advanced version of Dark Optica. It had caused a violet aura to surround Yuka's body, and he gasped in shock while finding himself unable to move or look away from the movements of Darcy's fingers.
He suddenly felt his body begin to collapse like it had lost all of its energy in that mere moment, and Yuka fell to the ground while feeling his eyelids begin to get heavy like he was exhausted. Darcy walked over to him with a sinister look in her amethyst purple eyes, and this version of Dark Optica allowed her to use any spell from her arsenal of Darkness Magic. She chose to use Nightmare Eater, perfect for a sleeping opponent, and Darcy simply placed her left hand on Yuka's forehead. She began to absorb not only the violet aura, but his thoughts as well. She replaced them all with nightmares while absorbing his magical power, and he began to toss and turn in his sleep like something was torturing him.
Darcy smirked at the power of her move, and she whispered faintly while looking at Yuka as she walked away from him before winking with her left eye, "I call upon thee, the first spell, Dark Optica."
In an instant, a violet blast of Darkness Magic transpired on the spot where Yuka had been sleeping. He woke up to take the full damage of the attack, screaming like he was actually in a nightmare, and all of the power was focused into a single point. Darcy had so much power in her attacks, controlling the flow of energy in such a perfect way, and the smoke cleared up quickly to reveal that Yuka was unconscious with his eyes open while he seemed to be choking from the poisonous side effect. Darcy laughed for a few seconds, before turning back into Lucy for her to be shocked at her win.
The blonde mage's eyes reverted back to being cocoa brown, and she gasped in pure amazement while looking down at her choking opponent. Lucy could not believe that she had done it again, putting her hands over her mouth, and she also felt replenished as if she had used the Nightmare Eater spell. Lucy looked up at the audience to see everyone looking shocked at what she had done to her opponent, and Lucy felt bad about it. However, she then heard a pair of hands clapping for her to show her that she won the match.
She turned around to see Sting applauding for her with a happy smile on his face, so incredibly proud of her, and that prompted Lector to applaud for her as well. The rest of her teammates followed suit, being mimicked by the rest of the audience in the Domus Flau, and even her friends from Fairy Tail were applauding for her. Erza was cheering Lucy's name loudly, having never doubted her for even a moment, and Gray also cheered about the fact that Lucy was powerful enough to use such mysterious moves.
"I haven't seen anything like that, since… I don't know! That was a great comeback from Lucy Heartfilia, and she could just become the dark horse in this tournament! That singing was so beautiful, yet haunting, but it doesn't change the fact that Sabertooth has earned ten more points to add to their score! Lucy Heartfilia is the winner! Her two dark days have ironically produced the light of victory for her guild, which is amazing!" Chapati exclaimed loudly while his awestruck look turned into an expression that looked like he saw the most exciting thing in his life, which he probably did.
"She certainly has a great bond with her Darkness Magic, to make spells like that without having to wait a while for sleeping moves to take effect." Yajima commented calmly while smiling.
"That was just too cool, and Lucy is really cool! That was cool enough to top Erza Scarlet's victory in the Pandemonium event last year, and that's reaching a new level of cool!" Jason shouted while looking just as excited as Chapati.
Lucy jumped back up into Sabertooth's booth while Toby got Yuka off the field, and the blonde mage smiled happily while being congratulated by her teammates. Yukino happily hugged her friend for avenging her loss last year, even though the match wasn't against Kagura from Team Mermaid Heel, and Lucy hugged back while being proud to have won such a tough battle. She even ran into Sting's arms to thank him for his words of advice during the battle, since he was the main reason why she tried so hard, and Lucy smiled up at him while blushing a light shade of pink.
"Lucy, that was off the charts in my definition of awesome! Sting-kun never doubted you for a second!" Lector told her with a smile on his face, as he then saw Sting passionately kiss Lucy on the lips to show how he felt about seeing such a thrilling match.
After the cheers had ceased for Lucy, everyone was shocked to know that the only two teams left were Team Fairy Tail A and Team Fairy Tail B. Either way, Fairy Tail would get ten points. It really wouldn't matter who one, unless it was a fight against Laxus and Jellal, since that would be interesting to watch. Lucy looked happy enough to root for both teams, except if Natsu was fighting, and she knew that Erza or Gray could do well. Master Makarov knew his children never went easy on each other, either, so this would be interesting.
Surprisingly, mainly to Lucy, the match up was Natsu versus Lisanna. She looked over at Fairy Tail A's booth to now see Natsu looking pretty scared, not knowing he had been pissing off Lisanna by breaking the deal that they had made with each other, and Lucy turned to Fairy Tail B's booth to see Lisanna giving Natsu the throat-cutting gesture while giving him a death glare. Erza looked shocked to see Natsu not going out there to battle, since Lisanna was getting ready to fight, and even Gray tried to pull Natsu up off the floor.
"Um.. I withdraw! I refuse to fight right now! My crotch is injured from sliding down the pillar! Crotch burn still hurts, Gray!" Natsu shouted loud enough for everyone in the Domus Flau to hear, making Lucy and Sting laugh at his supposed misfortune.
Since Natsu had forfeited, Lisanna earned the ten points for Team Fairy Tail B. She gave Natsu a wicked smile, thanking him for doing a great job right then and there, but his debt to to earn her trust was nowhere near close to being paid in full. He had quite a long way of humiliation to go, and Natsu gave Lisanna a harsh look. However, when she pulled out the Videotape Lacrima Crystal from the left pocket of her jeans, Natsu's glare quickly turned into a nervous smile. She also had an Audio Lacrima Crystal in her right pants pocket, for everyone to hear how horrible he talked about Lucy, and being blackmailed was surely not the best way to go.
In the booth of Team Sweet Melancholy, Karen was forming another scheme. She looked pretty deep in thought while realizing that Darcy and her magic had quite the drawback on getting the powers of a blonde maiden like Lucy to show her true potential, and Karen knew that she had to try a different approach to get Lucy to understand how she could become stronger with the book's power at her disposal. There really was nothing to be afraid of, since Lucy just had to learn about control, and let's just say that talking with Karen would either help her or hurt her.
How was Chapter 19? Did you like it? Lucy and Sting keep getting cuter in this StiCy story with their many moments, and they will continue to get more romantic as time goes on in this story. Sorry for not giving the direct orders on what Natsu has to do, but I think you saw what he must do to gain Lisanna's trust back. What will happen when Lucy and Karen cross paths again? What does Lucy find out about this woman that's so shocking? What does Karen give Lucy as another gift? Will Sting have his battle? Standby for the update!