Gray and Erza stood side by side as they stared at Alice, who nodded to the Hatter, before he disappeared into sparkles of golden glimmering dust. Alice turned back to her opponents, unable to hear the roaring of the crowd, a large portion of it chanting her name, and of how Levy bit her lip as she worried for her best friend.
"You think you can beat me?" Alice taunted, "You couldn't before."
"I am not alone," Erza answered, "And now, there is no question about it, I have to win."
"Then lets fight," Alice stated, and within a split second everyone had moved.
Erza had run forward, her body glowing as she changed armour, appearing again in a different armour, that of the Armadura Fairy. Gray was running, his arms casting a spell as he charged at Alice. The Wonderland mage was pulling her arms back as she ran at her opponents, preparing an attack of her own.
In the centre, all three attack collided, Erza's sword, Gray's Ice-Make: Arrows flying to the Wonderland mage, and Alice had cast one of her wonderland spells that sent a massive burst of energy at her enemies.
Gray's attack landed on Alice, as did Erza's well-aimed sword stab, and Alice's wonderland attack hit both Gray and Erza.
As the three took a step back, Alice was sporting a large looking cut on her side, while Erza and Gray, already looking tired and worn before they had started the fight, only looked even more so. Alice swiftly reequipped, changing into her Jabberwocky Slaying Armour, a golden chest plate and armour covering her body like a second skin, and a thick, sharp, sword appearing in her hand.
They charged again, Erza and Alice's swords clashing and clanging as they rammed against one another, but Alice did not leave herself unguarded, sending out waves and blasts of magical power, pure and raw, into Gray, who was managing to dodge them, but due to their speed and good aim he couldn't cast in time to dodge the next attack. Alice and Erza were showing their advanced swordsmanship, their blades moving too quick for the human eye to watch, clanging and clashing over and over again, neither of them landing a hit, but parrying the other.
When they stepped back again, they were all breathless, either from fighting or dodging in Gray's case.
"You're strong," Gray huffed as he caught his breath.
"You haven't changed," Alice responded, "Your magic power is exactly the same as it was seven years ago."
"How would you know that?" Gray snapped.
"I worked hard these seven years," Alice sneered, "I trained and trained and trained to surpass you, I did everything I could to beat you!"
"You sound like someone I knew," Gray murmured, thinking of Lyon, his rival, when he had been so twisted by Ur's death he wasn't thinking straight, "He was so stuck on surpassing his mentor, that he didn't realise how wrong he was. You don't need to surpass someone, you need to be yourself, you don't need to measure yourself up against anyone."
"Don't you dare!" Alice hissed, "Don't you dare think you understand me! You will never understand me!"
Alice charged again, her sword clashing with Erza's, but her mind was clouded with rage, too angry to see as Gray created his Excalibur and brought it down on Alice, sending the Wonderland mage flying, into a nearby building. But Alice pushed herself up, sprinting with unhuman speed she ran straight into Gray, catching the Ice Mage off guard, and she had her arms around his midsection, pulling him along an her super speed, leaving the Ice Mage startled and defenceless as her hands glowed gold and she threw him into a building with alien strength, knocking the Ice Mage, who had fought tiredly and bravely, unconscious.
That left two.
Erza against Alice.
"You have hurt my comrades, and I shall not forgive you for that," Erza stated.
"Bring it," Alice hissed.
Erza charged, her sword slashing and stabbing, but Alice blocked every attack, every movement she had already prepared for. Erza tried, she changed her moves, aiming all over the Wonderland mage's body, but she blocked everything, and then parried with attacks of such strength Erza felt her sword shudder under the extreme force.
But she would not give up.
For she was Fairy Tail.
Erza let out an animalistic noise, something like a roar, as she threw herself into her attacks, her whole body pushing forwards and pulling back, and Alice's attacks only became stronger as she copied Erza's moves. They broke apart again, both of them huffing.
"I've beaten you before, I'll do it again," Alice huffed.
"I will not give up!" Erza shouted, "I may be the last of my comrades, but I will defeat you!"
They collided again, but still they were left at their stalemate, occasionally one of them landing a hit, but then the other parried with an attack of their own. The next time they parted, there was slashes and slices all over their bodies, both their armours broken in places as the other had broken plates and targeted weaknesses in the others armour.
"I… I will win!" Erza yelled, "For my nakama, I will not back down!"
"Why does that mean I should let you win?" Alice demanded.
"My nakama suffered," Erza whispered, looking away for a moment, "They were hurt and alone and suffering because I was not there. I should have been there, I should not have left them to the taunting and the sneering, I should have been there to help them, to protect them, to keep them strong. I return after what seemed like a moment, but turns out to be seven years, to see my best friend, the girl who's like a little sister, is gone and my guild lies in ruins."
"I SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE!" Erza yelled, tears welling up in her real eye, "I should have taken away their pain, I should have stopped Lucy from leaving, I should have made Romeo smile, I should have made my guild proud, I should have stopped every tear they shed, I should made all their pain go away. I SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE! But… I wasn't. So right here, right now, I will make it up to them in the only way I can, I will win this, for my nakama for their pain, for the taunting they endured and all the suffering they were dealt. I WILL WIN FOR THEM!"
Erza ran at her, her sword slashing and slicing, but Alice jumped out of the way, nimble on her feet as she dodged every blow Erza threw at her. They were both drenched in sweat, the battle showing no sign of ending as Erza was driven, refusing to give up as she fought for her nakama, and Alice would not back down.
"Seems like they're at a stalemate," Chapati commented, "I wonder who will win."
"There was a rumour that Alice had previously beaten Erza at the Fairy Tail guild hall-kabo," Mato stated.
"But Erza had motivation, and she will never give up for her nakama," Yajima pointed out.
"This is an interesting fight, I wonder who will win," Chapati mused, "I think I'd put my money on Alice, as Erza has been away for seven years, her magic cant be as strong as Alice, who, according to the records, surpassed Erza's magic level two years ago."
"I do not doubt Erza," Yajima responded.
"Oh my!" Chapati exclaimed, "There's another announcement from the Gamer Makers! To make this fight even more exciting, and to give Fairy Tail a chance to gain even more points and win with points to spare, Alice's point value will start at 15 points, and every minute it will drop a point in value, meaning if Erza beats Alice within a minute, she gains fifteen points, if she takes two minutes, fourteen points, etc. It's only gotten more exciting!"
"Well it looks like you have a time limit," Alice huffed, her and Erza taking a quick break from their close clash of swordsmanship that saw no finish line, "Looks like the crowd are getting bored, if you don't defeat me within nine minutes, you won't be the winner, you'll have let you nakama down."
"Then I will defeat you now!" Erza declared as she charged, and Alice let out a harsh laugh.
"I'm tired of this," Alice chuckled, her eyes glowing gold, and Erza felt herself fly backwards, crashing in a wall, but she pushed herself up.
"So you're using you magic now?" Erza yelled, "I will still beat you."
"Try, I double dare you," Alice taunted, and she laughed before she rolled her shoulders, Erza charging towards Alice as she started to cast her spell.
"Home of the Heavens and the burning stars
Your mystery is found
Now it shall be lifted
Let go of thy burden
Thou duty is over
Thy job is done
I am the master of the sky!
Give in to the eternal weight
Oh mighty home of the stars
Fall!
SKY BREAK!"
After Alice had cast the spell, it seemed like the world slowed down, one second Erza was running to Alice, the next, it seemed like the sky itself was crashing down on her, and she tried to dodge it as best she could, sprinting as she refused to give up as the massive pieces of what she could only called the sky. She flipped over one piece that crashed to the ground in front of her, and it seemed like the sky above her was bright, too bright, and when she glanced up she saw the fiery inferno that Alice's spell unleashed. But with her attention momentarily elsewhere, Erza did not see the large piece of sky that was falling onto her.
The Knight Mage let out a cry of pain as she felt the heavy weight crash into her already wounded frame, and she was trapped under the rubble. She struggled to push herself up, and saw out of the corner of her eye that Alice was approaching her, walking at a slow, steady pace, and Erza hated the look of victory on her face as she bent down to look Erza in the eye, even as the Knight mage tried to push herself up, she could barely move.
"Time to lose Erza," Alice shrugged as she looked into Erza's eyes, her own glowing gold as she used her magic.
Erza let out a cry of pain.
Then everything went black.
When Erza opened her eyes, she wasn't sure where exactly she was. She looked perfectly healed, the wounds on her body seemed to have disappeared, and she wore a simple black dress, not what she had been wearing during her defeat. She looked around, seeing only black darkness surrounding her. She walked forward slightly, and then she heard a sound.
It was sobbing.
Heart wrenched, painful sobbing that made Erza stop in her tracks.
She looked into the distance, and saw someone she would never forget.
Lucy.
There was her celestial best friend, her little sister was sobbing, shaking and crying as wails of pain and sorrow escaped her lips.
"Lucy!" Erza cried and she ran forward.
And ran through Lucy.
She stared at herself, then at Lucy, and it was then that she noticed her skin was paler than it usually was, and when she looked at herself, only then did she noticed how transparent she was.
Was she… a ghost?
Lucy was sobbing, shaking and weeping, and it was that sound that broke Erza out of her confusion, and she turned to her best friend, determined to help her in some way. But then there was a glimmer of gold, and Loke appeared by his master's side. Erza looked around, and her surroundings had changed, no longer was darkness covering her, but instead she was in Lucy's room in her apartment.
"Lucy…" Loke murmured and she dropped down to Lucy's side, as the blonde was curled up in the corner of her bed, sobbing and shaking as her celestial spirit put his arms around her and held her as she wept.
"T-They're gone L-Loke," Lucy wept, "A-And they'r-re nev-ver coming-g b-back-k."
Erza;s heart seemed ot skip a beat as she suddenly understood what she was seeing.
Somehow, in front of her, was the past, and it was Lucy during her family's disappearance.
"Lucy…" Erza whispered as she watched her shake, tears trailing down her cheeks from her real eye as she watched Loke hold his master, whispering comforting words into her ear and stroking her hair.
"I hate this Loke," Lucy murmured, "I hate this pain, I hate this loneliness. I hate them not being here… I can't do this anymore. I CAN'T DO THIS!"
"Lucy, it's okay, you have to remember what Crux said," Loke tried to comfort his master.
"Seven years?! How can I wait SEVEN YEARS?!" Lucy yelled, "I can't even manage walking into the guild without breaking down, and you think I can manage seven years like this?! I feel like I'm torn in half, I can't even think without them popping up. I wish I'd gone with them! I wish I'd died with them!"
"Lucy, please listen to me," Loke whispered as he looked his master in the eye, seeing her tear stained face, he gently brushed a tear away, "I have an idea."
"An idea?" Lucy whispered.
"You can't do this, you can't continue like this," Loke explained, "I can see that as much as oyu can. I'm you spirit, we're all your spirits, and we would do anything for you. We've been talking, thinking, and I had an idea, they've all agreed to it if you want us to go forward with it."
"What is it?" Lucy questioned in a small voice.
"You could change, become a completely different person," Loke answered, "You could leave Fairy Tail, escape from this pain, maybe even spend more time in the Celestial Spirit World, get yourself away, get yourself healed, however temporary. Then in seven years, when they come back, you can go back to them."
"B-But Fairy Tail-" Lucy cried.
"They would understand," Loke cut her off to answer her question, "And no one would recognise you, the other spirits and I decided we'd do anything for you, we don't mind changing who we are, if it helps you, we'd all do anything."
"I doubt Aquarius agreed willingly," Lucy giggled sadly.
"She was the first one to support my idea," Loke responded, "She said she wanted you to come back, and if she could do anything, she would do it. We all would. So Lucy, you can think about it, but know that you don't have to put them all first. I know, you've tried, you've tried to hide your sadness from them, or the true extent of it, but you can't keep on like this. So I'm askin- no, begging you to put yourself first Lucy, to become someone else. Just think about it."
Loke moved forward and kissed Lucy's for head, before he disappeared back into the Celestial Spirit World.
Erza watched as Lucy stared off into the distance, and then the blonde scrunched her eyes shut, wiping her eyes away.
"I wish I was as strong as Erza," Lucy whispered to herself, "Then maybe I could be better, maybe I would be able to bring them back… Yeah, like that would ever happen, I'll never be as strong as Erza."
"Lucy…" Erza murmured, and she moved forward, to try and do something, not that she knew what.
But then the darkness submerged. Lucy disappeared, and Erza let out a cry of anger as she was left back in the darkness. And then she turned around, and saw herself in another place, a clearing in a wood, and in the centre of it was Lucy, Loke next to her, telling her what to do. Erza watched as Lucy nodded, determination clear in her gaze as she rose her palm, her eyes glowing gold as a beam of brilliant golden light shot out of her hand. Lucy all but fell into Loke's waiting arms, looking exhausted from the use of a powerful spell.
Erza was frozen.
She knew that magic.
But it couldn't be right, it couldn't be true.
They couldn't be the same.
Alice could not be Lucy.
Then the scene changed again, the darkness descending again and she turned and saw a new snapshot, this one without sound as she saw flashes of more training, of more magic that she knew, more moves that made her blood turn cold. She watched as Lucy pushed herself, training day and night, not sleeping in favour of training.
But there was one thing that made Erza's heart break.
"I will beat her!" Lucy would shout as she struggled, "I will surpass Erza! I will!"
She watched as Aquarius and Lucy grew closer, how Loke and her would share private little moments together, how her spirits became her family and truest friends. She watched as Lucy stayed in one place, in that one forest, for two years, training every day and every night.
The darkness then descended, and Erza spun around, desperate to see more, to know more, for her fear to be confirmed. But there was nothing, no images appeared, no light in the darkness.
"Show me more!" Erza demanded, "I have to see more! I have to know!"
There was silence for a moment, and Erza felt her anger get the better of her.
"Erza?" a voice called, and Erza spun around to see Alice standing there, her features softened and she looked, if anything, slightly relieved that Erza was there.
But the Knight Mage of Fairy Tail did not say a word, staring at the person who she thought she knew, her theory at the forefront of her mind as she observed the Wonderland Mage's every action.
"I'm sorry, my spell went wrong," Alice apologised, "It was supposed to allow me into your mind to make you sleep, but I opened the connection to my head instead."
"So this is your mind?" Erza questioned, her heart hammering in her chest as Alice looked to her, her face turning into a blank wall of no emotion.
"What have you seen?" Alice demanded.
Erza did not move a muscle, staring at Alice in shock, as her theory was proved correct.
"WHAT HAVE YOU SEEN?!" Alice yelled, and she grabbed Erza roughly, snapping the redhead out of her shock, and causing her to whisper.
"Lucy," Erza whispered, and Alice froze, backing away.
"No," Alice murmured, chanting the word under her breath, "No no no no no, she can't know! You can't know!"
"You're Lucy," Erza stated, moving forward, and Alice looked down, refusing to look at her idol and best friend, her older sister.
"I saw… I think I saw your memories," Erza explained in a soft voice, "I saw your pain, I saw you sobbing after we had left, I saw how you were tearing yourself up. I saw the pain you were in. I saw you leave the guild, I saw you train… I saw how you aimed to be stronger than me, to surpass me."
Alice was silent as Erza spoke, not moving a muscle as the red headed mage of Fairy Tail moved to stand right in front of her.
There was silence as the two stood facing one another, Erza only a tiny bit taller than Alice, even though the latter was older.
Then Erza reached out in a split second, pulling Alice into a hug, the redhead pulling Alice's body closer to her own, feeling as wet tears soaked into her neck from Alice as she cried, she felt her nakama's shoulders shaking, and hear as she sobbed. Alice's arms were around Erza's waist, clinging onto her in a vulnerable way that Erza had never felt before.
This was her little sister.
It didn't matter if Lucy wasn't Lucy, just because she was powerful, just because she could beat Erza without using her full power, just because she wasn't in her guild right then, just because they were fighting one another.
She still loved her little sister.
"I-I-I m-missed-d y-you," Alice sobbed as she clung onto Erza.
"I missed you too," Erza whispered back, tears leaking from her real eye, and she felt Alice bury her head further into her neck.
"I-I'm s-sorry," Alice wept.
"I forgive you," Erza murmured her response, holding onto her nakama with a smile.
When they finally drew back, they stared at each other with massive smiles on their faces.
"I can't believe you're back!" Alice cried, hugging Erza again, "I missed you so much, you wouldn't believe it!"
"I'm sorry I left," Erza exclaimed back, wiping away her tears, and Alice let out a giggle, while Erza smiled softly at her nakama, "I just… I know it's hard for you. But… I don't understand one thing."
"What?" Alice questioned.
"Why didn't you tell us?" Erza asked, "Why not tell us you were okay? Why make us worry?"
"I… I wasn't sure if I could come back," Alice whispered.
"You don't want to come back?" Erza exclaimed.
"NO!" Alice cried, "I want to come back, of course I do. I… I don't think it will be right for me to come back."
"I don't understand," Erza admitted.
"In Team Nastu, we worked in a certain way," Alice explained, "Natsu and Gray would destroy everything, and you would try to hold them back, but end up destroying loads of stuff with them. Then I would be on the side-line, moaning I didn't have money for rent."
"No, you weren't just on the side-line!" Erza protested, and Alice let out a small chuckle.
"I was Erza, don't deny it," Alice brushed it off, "If I was to go back, S-Class mage of Blue Pegasus, first I would have to leave everyone who cared for me after I left you, I would have to desert them, and that's something I don't really want to do. But then when I'd get back, if I were to return to the team, it wouldn't be the same. I can take out bandits in split seconds, dark guilds in a couple of minutes, S-Class missions only take a day at most. I can't return because I'm not he Lucy you left, I'm not the Lucy you love."
Erza was silent for a moment as she thought of her response.
"I don't care about that," Erza denied, "I care about you, whether you're Alice or Lucy, you are still my nakama, still my best friend, still my little sister. I just wanted to know that you are safe, that you're happy. If… If Fairy Tail isn't your home anymore, I understand if it isn't… Then I… I don't want to lose you anyway…"
Alice was crying, throwing herself into Erza's arms, and clutching her dearly.
"I love you Erza," Alice whispered, "I would never want to lose you, not again."
"Me neither," Erza agreed, "I'm sorry that you were alone, I'm sorry that I hurt you."
"I forgive you," Alice pulled back and smiled at Erza," I forgave you years ago."
"I'm glad," Erza responded, before her face twisted in confusion, "But I do have a question."
"Shoot," Alice instructed.
"Aren't you supposed to be twenty five now?" Erza questioned, "I mean, you were eighteen when he left, and now you look exactly the same age."
"That's funny!" Alice laughed, "You know how I merged my body with the Celestial world? You know, when I came back to life? But anyway, due to that, I'm immortal now, I don't age. It's a bit like a celestial spirit, but I'm part human, the eating, breathing, sleeping part."
"So your spirits-" Erza realised, but was cut off.
"Are Team Wonderland," Alice finished, "Yep, you're right there."
"So you are romantically involved with Loke?" Erza clarified, and Alice seemed to choke on air.
"No!" she cried, her face bright red.
"Right…" Erza teased with a smile on her face, "Your red face seems to say otherwise."
"Erza!" Alice exclaimed, before her blush faded and she looked down at her hand, "We don't have long here, we'll return back to the city in a few seconds."
"The city?" Erza questioned.
"Exactly where we left," Alice answered, "Not that we really left. for the audience and everyone watching, this is a split second, but for us, it can be as long as my magic allows. But I think our time's up."
"You can win," Erza stated, "The fight, I mean."
"No," Alice denied, "I don't want to win, you should, you're doing it for all of us who got left behind, you have a true motivation driving you."
"It would be a bit hypocritical to win for you by beating you," Erza pointed out, and the two girls shared a laugh as they faded out form the black bleakness of a mind, and back into the real world.
Erza opened her eyes to see Alice moving forward, pushing the slab of sky off her, and helping her up to her feet. They shared a smile, knowingly looking at one another.
"Alice has helped Erza up?!" Chapati exclaimed, "Is she throwing the fight?"
"Beat her Alice!" Blue Pegasus fans roared.
"You can do it Erza!" Fairy Tail supported yelled.
Alice opened her mouth to speak, to say something, but Erza would never know what she was going to say.
Because she was cut off by a sound that froze Erza to her core.
A roar.
Alice turned with wide eyes, and even the shouts of the crowd turned into screams as the camera caught sight of the mighty beast flying towards the two mages.
The flap of massive wings, belonging to an even more massive monster, hit Erza's ears as she was frozen in shock, her blood pumping in her ears as she could only watched as it approached. Alice watched with wide eyes, her mouth parted slightly in shock.
"Is that…?" Chapati whispered.
"No…" Master Makarov murmured.
"That's impossible!" Master Mavis screamed.
The crowd was screaming, their eyes glued to the lacrima vision that showed the impossible.
"A dragon!" Alice yelled.
"Not just any dragon!" Erza shouted, and she looked to the dark form that was upon them.
"Acnologia." Erza stated.
"Acnologia," Master Makarov whispered.
"Acnologia," Levy whimpered.
"Acnologia," Natsu hissed.
There was an ear splitting roar as Acnologia used the attack that was renowned for is immense damage, as a spiralling tornado soared towards an unprepared and terror-struck Alice and Erza, and the unconscious forms of Team Fairy Tail around them.
Then…
The lacrima went black, the connection severed.
The crowd was silent in horror.
A/N HEY GUYS! I'm responding to reviews I can PM back, if that makes any sense, I just wanted to post the next chapter! I'm literally just going to respond right now!
dailysbear: Ooh! I get that! Well, what do you think of what I decided to do?
Amanda: Hm… True. Hope you like what I decided to do! Alice does have some Lucy in her, even though she is VERY different from the blonde haired Celestial Fairy, they are little bits of Lucy seeping through her. :D The best type of prize is a surprise! Hopefully I should update again soon!
xxchatonxx: I'm glad you loved it! What do you think? There isn't actually a winner, unless you count Acnologia, but then does he defeat both of them? I don't want to spoil anything!
Guest: Hopefully I'll update soon. I'm glad you like it! I'll agree with you about Alice, she is very powerful, in a way Lucy never really was.
THANKS EVERYONE!
Becney :P