Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.
Sorry for the slightly long update. This chapter took a while to come together because of fight details. That being said, I'm a fan of how the whole thing turned out. Or maybe that's just me. I don't know. Anyway, the plot thickens. Enjoy!
Fairy Tail—The Master and the Dragon
Chapter 66
"ANSWER ME, YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Gracie screamed at the top of her lungs. Her fists were clenched tightly and they shook from her building anger. Her face was twisted in rage. "WHERE IS NIKY?"
"I told you that I won't be answering any questions," Xeeval said coolly, completely unaffected by Gracie's rage. "All I intend to do here is fulfill my mission. You will be coming with me, Gracie Amier."
"Where do you plan on taking her?" Erza demanded.
Xeeval eyed Erza, but didn't move. "That doesn't concern you."
"Of course it does!" Lucy cried. "We're her friends and family!"
His gaze moved to Lucy. "You'll all be dead long before I take Gracie from this place, so no, it doesn't concern you."
"WHAT THE FUCK DOES ANY OF THAT MATTER?" Gracie bellowed. "ANSWER MY QUESTION, ASSHOLE!"
Xeeval narrowed his eyes at her. "Interesting. None of my victims have ever been as dramatic as you. I wonder what your blood is like." He closed his eyes. "It's too bad I can only take a small sample from you. You're needed alive, after all."
Gracie was shaking so violently she was on the verge of exploding. "Stop dodging the question," she hissed venomously.
Xeeval gripped his blade tightly. "Enough talk. I should get started now."
Natsu burst forward with his hands ablaze. "You're gonna tell us where Nikolias is right now!"
Gajeel followed suit with iron scales covering his arms. "Tell us quick before we knock your teeth in!"
Xeeval shifted his gaze towards the two charging Dragon Slayers. "Interesting. I wouldn't have thought that you'd come to me. That's another first."
Both Dragon Slayers drew back their fists. "Take this!" they roared.
In the blink of an eye, Xeeval bent forward slightly and dashed forward. In that same instance, he left diagonal slashes across Natsu and Gajeel's chests before coming to rest behind them.
Natsu and Gajeel both slowed down until they were standing still, looks of shock on their faces. "When did he…" Gajeel began.
"…move?" Natsu finished. Blood erupted from their wounds as they fell to their knees.
"NATSU!" Lucy shrieked.
"GAJEEL!" Levy cried.
"He's fast," Erza noted. "I never saw him move. He did so much in less than a second."
Xeeval straightened up and eyed his blade. The blood from the two Dragon Slayers covered the edge of the machete and dripped to the dirt. "Drink," he muttered. Upon command, the blood absorbed into the blade and caused it to pulsate for a moment.
"What just happened?" Wendy asked, her voice trembling.
"His blade absorbed Natsu and Gajeel's blood," Erza said. "How could it do that? Is it a strange kind of magic?"
Xeeval turned to the stunned Dragon Slayers. "I suppose you'll be the first to feed my blade."
Natsu tried to push himself to his feet, but his body was barely responding. "Damn it, I can't move!"
"Neither can I," Gajeel growled as he, too, found it nearly impossible to leave his knees. "Why won't my legs listen to me?"
Xeeval dashed for them. "Die," he mumbled and swung his machete.
His machete never met flesh, though. Instead, the sound of metal striking metal rang through the air.
Gracie pushed against the machete with her katanas with all of her might. "Sorry, not happening."
Xeeval's face did not change. "Oh, I see. You're much faster than I had thought."
Gracie was finding it hard to fend Xeeval off. 'How strong is this guy? He doesn't look all that jacked. How can he put up such a struggle?' She shook her head of the thought. "While I have you here, mind answering my question now?"
"I already told you that I won't answer any questions," Xeeval replied simply.
"Then maybe you need a little more convincing," Gray said as he took his Maker stance. "ICE MAKE FLOOR!" He thrust his hands onto the ground and forced ice to spread across the earth.
Xeeval eyed the approaching ice from the corner of his eye. Without a word, he pushed Gracie back with ease and leapt away before the ice could grab hold of his feet and legs.
Gracie fell to the ground. "You're freaking kidding me. Did he seriously have strength in reserve? It took everything I had just to hold him back!"
Lucy and Levy took the chance to run to Natsu and Gajeel. Wendy followed them.
"Natsu, are you alright?" Lucy asked as she knelt beside Natsu. Seeing the gash across his chest nearly made her faint. "Oh my God, Natsu. That's a bad wound."
Natsu smiled at her while wincing at the pain. "Nah, it ain't so bad."
"Yeah, this is nothing," Gajeel agreed.
"Oh, stop it with the macho crap," Levy scolded. "You're bleeding badly."
Gajeel smirked. "Didn't know you cared that much, shrimp."
Levy blushed furiously. "Of course I care!" she shouted. "If anything ever happened to you, I'd…I'd…"
"Never mind that," Gracie said as she got to her feet. "Wendy, heal those two up as fast as you can please."
Wendy had already started. "I'll do my best!"
Erza, Gray, Mira, and Christina all stood beside Gracie. "So what's the plan?" Gray asked.
Gracie eyed Xeeval cautiously where he was standing. "I don't know. His strength and speed are deceptive. I think our best option is a coordinated attack."
"Sounds good. How do we go about it?" Erza asked.
"Erza, you and I will do what we can up close. You three will look for any openings from a distance while simultaneously watching over Wendy and the others," Gracie said.
"Okay," they all replied.
Erza requipped into her Robe of Yuen armor. Mira took her Satan Soul form. Christina readied her bow. Gray took his Maker stance.
Gracie lifted her katanas up to her chest. "Alright, everyone. Let's get 'em!" With that, Erza and Gracie charged for Xeeval while Christina, Mira, and Gray stood at the ready by the wounded.
Xeeval held his blade at the ready. He then dashed forward with such speed that Gracie and Erza could barely see him. However, he ran straight past the two swordswomen.
With his blinding speed, he even ran past Christina, Mira, and Gray.
He then reached his target. With a swift movement, he swung his machete at Wendy. The Sky Dragon Slayer barely had time to register his presence before the machete sliced through her upper arm, causing her to shriek in pain. Blood collected on the blade before quickly absorbing into it and causing it to pulsate again. Before she could fall to the ground, Xeeval sent out a harsh kick that sent her flying. He leapt after her small frame.
"WENDY!" Gracie cried out.
"How the hell did he get past us?" Gray asked in bewilderment as he, Mira, Christina, Gracie, and Erza ran towards where Wendy was now lying in pain.
"He went for our healer," Erza said through gritted teeth.
Xeeval stood above Wendy's shaking frame. "I can't have you healing my victims," he said coldly. He lifted his machete so the point was perpendicular to her neck. "You will be the first to die."
Wendy's eyes widened. "H…Help," she whimpered, but her fear kept her voice from traveling.
"WENDYYYYYY!" Carla cried.
The machete began its descent.
Wendy squeezed her eyes shut and lifted her uninjured arm above her in spite of the pain she was in. Magic quickly poured from her hand as she began to spin it around as quickly as she could. The wind spun with her arm. "SKY DRAGON GALE FORCE!" Wind began to whip around above her, stopping Xeeval's blade just short of her body. The skilled swordsman was so caught off guard by the sudden counter attack that all he could manage was an instinctive guard with his arms. He was easily sent flying backwards into the air by the strong winds.
The Fairy Tail mages watched as Xeeval was pushed into the air and sent skidding backwards.
"What was that?" Lucy asked from her place beside Natsu.
Gracie laughed. "Even when he's not here, Niky has an impact! That's the move that Niky taught Wendy a while back; Sky Dragon Gale Force."
"That…was what Nikolias taught her?" Carla asked in disbelief.
Gracie nodded. "Yep. And it just saved her life."
Carla crossed her arms as she tried to hide her tears of joy. "Well then. I suppose I'll have to thank him when we find him."
Xeeval looked at his strong arms. Small cuts covered his forearms. "That attack…how did she manage that at such close range and accumulate it so quickly? Surely that can't be possible." He looked over to Wendy. "Where did you learn such a skill, small one?"
Gracie pointed her katana's tip at Xeeval. "She learned it from Niky, the one we're looking for."
"Who is this Nikolias that you keep asking about?" Xeeval asked. Someone who could teach such a powerful ability was surely worth knowing about.
"Nikolias is a Half-Dragon," Natsu growled as he continued to try and get to his feet. Lucy had to hold him down to prevent him from moving with his injury.
Christina blinked. "He's a what?"
Xeeval looked at Natsu then back at Gracie. "I see. So Nikolias is the Half-Dragon. I didn't know that. If I had, I would have answered your question as to his whereabouts immediately."
"So you do know," Gracie said.
Xeeval nodded. "My employer does wish for you to know where he is, so I shall tell you. He is with my employer, Master Jarvan, at our headquarters in Calione."
Gracie's eyes widened. "No way," she whispered. "All this time…he was in Calione?" Her grip tightened immensely on her blade handles. "You're telling me we passed him?"
"Why is he there?" Mira asked.
"I can't tell you anything else. I have answered the only question that I will answer." He raised his machete. "Now I shall continue to kill you all and bring Gracie back with me to Calione alive."
Gracie charged forward with anger all over her face. "You bastard! Why would you take Niky?"
Xeeval made no motion to move. "I can't answer that."
Gracie swung at Xeeval with incredible speed and power, but Xeeval parried every strike with ease. "Why does this Jarvan guy want Niky? Why does he want me?"
"I can't answer that."
"I want to know, so tell me!"
Xeeval quickly sidestepped Gracie's next strike and swiftly left a shallow incision in her back. The small amount of blood absorbed into the blade and caused it to pulsate again.
Gracie yelped in pain before turning and trying again.
Xeeval continued to parry her attacks. "You're fighting with far too many emotions. They are making your strikes sloppy and weak. If my mission were to kill you it would be far too easy for me."
"FUCK YOU!" she shrieked as she lunged forward. This time, Xeeval leapt above her strike, spun in midair, and dealt a sharp kick to the side of her face. The blow caused her to spit out blood and stagger off to the side. She wiped away the blood from her mouth. "Shit."
Christina ran to Wendy. She knelt beside her and lifted her into a sitting position. "Gracie, be careful!"
"Wendy, are you alright?" Carla asked.
Wendy nodded and smiled. "I'm fine," she rasped. "It's not too bad. I can heal it quickly."
"Then you have to heal Natsu!" Happy cried.
Wendy nodded. "Of course."
Carla sighed. "I have a bad feeling that you'll run out of energy far before this fight ends, child, especially after using a Half-Dragon caliber attack."
"I do feel a little tired," Wendy admitted, "but I have to do this." She then began to heal her arm. "I have to heal Natsu and Gajeel and Gracie!"
"Don't worry about me, Wendy," Gracie called out as she straightened up. "Just focus on you, Natsu, and Gajeel."
Erza ran up beside Gracie and held her bisento in front of her. "You do need to try and calm down, Gracie. Attacking with such anger will make it more difficult to defeat him."
"I know that," Gracie said, "but this guy is pissing me off!"
Mira landed on the other side of Gracie. "He's getting on my bad side, too, but we need to keep a level head."
Gray walked up next to Mira and tossed his shirt away. "The four of us together should be more than enough for this guy."
Gracie smiled at her friends. "Right." She then glared at Xeeval. "Let's try altogether now!"
Mira charged up a sphere of Darkness Magic in her hands. "EVIL EXPLOSION!" she cried as she fired the attack at Xeeval.
Xeeval leapt far off to the side and easily dodged the attack. "If you think you can defeat me because of numbers, you're mistaken."
"Really?" Gray asked as he pointed the barrel of an ice cannon towards where Xeeval was about to land. "Because you look pretty vulnerable from where I'm standing. ICE MAKE CANNON!" A blast of ice fired from the cannon and raced towards where Xeeval would soon be landing.
Xeeval landed exactly where Gray had predicted he would. However, he didn't try to dodge the incoming ice blast. Instead, he lifted his machete so that it was vertically aligned with the center of his body before swiftly swinging his blade in front of him. The rusted steel connected with the thick ball of solid ice and batted it away. The ice ball sailed off to the side and crashed into a building.
"No way!" Gray shouted. "How could that rusty old thing deflect that shot?"
Erza appeared behind Xeeval and swung her bisento at his back. She thought that since he had just put all of his balance into that deflection that he wouldn't be able to react in time.
However, she was quickly proven wrong as Xeeval quickly spun and parried the strike. He then used the momentum from his spin to push Erza's weapon upwards. This upset her balance backwards and allowed Xeeval to counter attack with a swift horizontal slash at her abdomen.
Erza was able to react in time and, using her current momentum to her advantage, bent backwards to allow the blade to miss above her. She did a brief series of back handsprings to get out of harm's way. She skidded to a stop using her free hand to stop her movement while her bisento's shaft rested on her back. She narrowed her eyes at Xeeval. "His reaction time is like nothing I've ever seen."
Gracie leapt at Xeeval's exposed back. "I won't give up!" she cried as she swung her katanas at Xeeval.
Xeeval quickly spun back around to face her and once again began parrying all of her strikes. His face remained emotionless and he didn't even look fatigued in the least.
Gracie gritted her teeth as she kept up her assault without slowing down. 'How is this guy so fast and strong? It's freaking inhuman. And how can this rusted blade be so durable? How have all of our attacks not snapped it like a twig? Wait…' She pushed against Xeeval's machete so that she could get a good look at it. "That's not rust, is it?"
"I won't answer any questions," he replied.
"Fine. Don't tell me. I already know just from watching what's been happening. That crud covering your blade isn't rust; it's dried blood," Gracie said.
"Oh, I see. You're smarter than I thought as well," Xeeval said. "Very well. Since you've already guessed, there's no point in withholding. Yes, what you see on my blade is in fact blood. It is the blood from the hundreds that I've killed. My machete consumes any blood that it comes into contact with. That is the blood that you see."
"Kind of sick," Gracie commented.
"Killing is messy. There is nothing clean or attractive about it," Xeeval replied.
"If you feel that way, then why do it?" Gracie asked.
"I won't be answering anymore questions," he answered.
"Well we're about to kick your ass!" Gray shouted as he leapt at Xeeval from behind with a giant hammer of ice gripped tightly in his hands. "ICE MAKE HAMMER!" He swung the massive icy instrument downwards.
Xeeval watched the weapon descend upon him from the corner of his eye. Without a word or any excess effort, he quickly stepped back and spun to the side so that Gracie's weight carried her forward. He then kicked Gracie's legs out from underneath her so that she was lying on her back.
Gray noticed this and quickly forced his hammer to disappear before it could hit Gracie.
"I knew you would do that," Xeeval said just before springing upwards and slashing through Gray's chest with his machete. Blood sprayed from the wound. He landed behind Gray as his blade drank the Ice Make wizard's blood.
Gray fell to the ground on his stomach and remained motionless.
"Gray!" Erza cried.
"Gray's down too?" Lucy said in disbelief. "No way."
"Wendy!" Happy cried. "Gray's badly hurt, too!"
Wendy stopped her magic after finally successfully healing her injury. "Okay. I'll heal him as soon as I can." She tried to stand up, but quickly fell back into Christina's arms.
"Don't push yourself," Christina said soothingly. "You're clearly exhausted."
"But I have to heal Natsu and Gajeel and Gray. They're hurt badly," Wendy said weakly.
"Don't be foolish, child," Carla scolded. "I know that you want to help, but in your condition what good will you be? You need to rest before attempting to heal anyone."
"But I can't rest now," Wendy said. "They need help."
"I'm sorry, but Carla's right," Christina said. "You can't even stand. Just rest for a bit, okay?"
"But…," Wendy started but was cut off as sleep quickly claimed her.
"She really was drained," Christina said before returning her attention to the battlefield. "I hope everyone will come out of this alive."
Gracie stared in disbelief where Gray was lying still. Blood was pooling on the ground beneath him. "Gray?" she called out quietly as she began to crawl over to the boy. He didn't answer. "Hey. Answer me."
Gray coughed out blood and slowly opened his eyes. "Yeah I'm here."
Gracie reached him and rolled him over onto his back. She rested his head on her thighs as she examined the deep gash on the right side of his chest. "You idiot," she said softly. "Why do you keep getting so hurt?"
"This guy's pretty tough," Gray said as blood ran from his mouth. "I never expected him to do all that in such a short amount of time."
She wiped away some blood on his lips with her thumb. "Look at you. You're all beat up."
"So are you," he joked.
She lifted her head to look around. Erza and Mira were locked in combat with Xeeval, but were struggling despite their strength and advantage in numbers. Lucy and Levy were sticking close to Natsu and Gajeel, who were both still bleeding profusely. Wendy had fallen asleep in Christina's arms after exhausting herself. The three Exceeds stayed by the two. Tears filled her eyes as she looked back down at Gray.
He smiled and chuckled. "What are you crying for?"
She returned the smile, but tears still rolled down her cheeks. "We're in pretty bad shape, huh?"
"We've been better, that's for sure," he said, "but we won't give up and we will come out on top. We beat Bloody Moon, Grimoire Heart, and even the people who have come after us on this mission. We won't let this stop us. We're Fairy Tail."
She nodded. "Mhm. We're Fairy Tail."
Gray lifted his hand and wiped away a tear from her cheek. "So stop crying and kick this guy's ass."
She put her hand on top of his and nodded. "You bet. Just don't die on me while I'm gone."
"It's a promise."
She carefully lowered his hand and put his head gently on the ground. She stood and glared at Xeeval while allowing her katanas to disappear. She clapped her hands together and a golden glow enveloped her. She closed her eyes and held her arms out to the sides. "Come forth, broad sword!" In a flash of brilliant light, her broad sword appeared before her. She gripped it with two hands. "It's been a while since we fought together, huh? Well I need you to help me show this guy that you don't fuck with Fairy Tail!" She dashed forward with a fierce battle cry.
Xeeval had just blocked a punch from Mira and kicked her away when he heard Gracie approaching. He turned around just in time to block her strike. However, even though he blocked it, the force of her charge and swing forced him to skid backwards. "Oh, I see. You were holding back your strength."
"My broad sword has been with me since I was 10 years old," Gracie said while pushing against Xeeval's machete. "I've been training with it ever since. It's my best weapon by far." She grinned at Xeeval. "Tell me how its steel tastes."
"You have a lot of confidence in your ability with this sword," Xeeval said. "Your demeanor has completely changed."
"Listen, douche," Gracie hissed. "Here's the play by play of exactly what's going to happen. I'm gonna beat the shit out of you and right before I run you through with my sword and take your miserable life, you're gonna answer every question I have."
"None of that will happen," Xeeval replied. "No matter how skilled you think you are, it's not enough to defeat me."
"We'll just SEE!" Gracie cried as she swiftly leapt backwards before dashing forward again. She swung her broad sword horizontally at Xeeval with all of her might. Once it was parried she spun her body to gain even more momentum while performing the same strike. This, too, was parried. However, Gracie did not relent. She kept spinning and swinging over and over again, gaining more and more speed and more and more power.
Xeeval was now being pushed back with each block. "Interesting tactic. However, I can easily block every…"
Gracie didn't let him finish. She planted her foot and stopped her movements completely so that she was facing Xeeval. With a fierce battle cry, she swung her broad sword upwards with incredible speed. With his block prepared for another spinning slash, her blade easily bypassed his guard and met flesh.
Xeeval was still able to react and leapt backwards, managing to avoid a fatal blow, but he still ended up with a gash on his left shoulder. He looked at the wound before looking back to Gracie. "I'll admit that you almost had me with that one."
Gracie gritted her teeth. "How the hell was he able to react to that so quickly? Anyone else would have had their left arm separated from their body!"
Erza stood facing Xeeval's left with her bisento at the ready. "But you injured him, Gracie. You're the first one to land a hit. Now with his injury, we have a better chance."
Mira landed facing Xeeval's right. "We'll take him down and force the information out of him."
Xeeval eyed the She-Devil to his right, then the red-haired swordswoman to his left, and then back to looking at Gracie straight ahead. "If you truly believe that you have the advantage because of a small injury to my shoulder, you're mistaken." He lifted his machete and allowed the steel to touch his wound. The blade began to pulsate several times before Xeeval lowered his weapon. "If anything, you've made it easier to kill you all and to incapacitate Gracie Amier." He crouched down low and maneuvered his weapon so that the blade was parallel to the ground in front of him.
"What's he going to do?" Mira asked.
"He's planning an attack!" Erza cried out. "We need to stop him now!"
"Too late," Xeeval growled as he and his blade began to glow a bright crimson red. "This is the end. KILLING SPREE!" And just like that, Xeeval vanished. In that moment that he vanished, a crimson light streaked across the battlefield in a circle where the three girls were standing. It moved so quickly that no one knew what had happened even as it crossed over their bodies. Once each girl was tagged by the crimson light, Xeeval reappeared in the exact same position in the middle of it all.
All of it happened in less than a second.
After another moment delay, all three girls cried out in pain as deep horizontal gashes appeared on their abdomens. Blood sprayed from the wounds as they all fell to their knees.
Mira was forced from her Satan Soul as she gripped her wound. "What just happened?"
Erza's Robe of Yuen disappeared and was replaced by her white blouse and blue skirt. The blouse was turning red as it absorbed the blood from her wound. "How could he move so fast?" She coughed out some blood while trying to regain her footing. "We blinked and he hit all three of us almost simultaneously."
Gracie's wound was the shallowest, but blood was still pouring from the wound. Her broad sword fell from her grip as she collapsed to her hands and knees. "Shit. He had something like that up his sleeve the entire time?"
Xeeval slowly walked towards Gracie. "Do you see now? Do you see how outmatched you are? Your skill may be impressive, but you lack a true killer's blood lust."
"Shut up, old man. I'm not a true killer," Gracie hissed. "I may kill people, but not innocent people. So I wouldn't have the blood lust of a true killer because that's not what I am."
Xeeval kicked her forcefully in the jaw and forced her on her back. He pressed down on her wound, causing her to shriek in immense pain. "That is nothing more than a pathetic story you tell yourself so that you can escape the reality of it all. A killer is a killer. It doesn't matter your motives or your victims. Once you take a life, you are a killer. You need to accept that."
Gracie's eyes were squeezed shut and pained screams escaped her throat as Xeeval continued to push down on her wound. Blood ran from her mouth and the new cut on her jaw. She forced an eye open to look at Xeeval's cold black eye. "I'm nothing like you."
"We're more alike than you realize," he replied. He dug his foot into her with a little more force, eliciting an even louder scream from the blonde. He then removed his foot and began walking away. "You're fortunate that my orders were to bring you back alive. If you were anyone else, you'd have been mutilated long ago."
Gracie tried to sit up, but couldn't get very far. "Where do you think you're going, coward?" she asked weakly. "We're not done here."
"For now we are," he replied. "First I need to kill everyone that you brought with you."
"Leave them alone," she demanded, but it came out so weakly that it sounded like she was begging.
Xeeval walked up to Mira, grabbed her by her hair, and lifted her up so that she was eye level. Mira's face was twisted in pain. "I'll start with this one."
"No!" Gracie cried out. "It's me you want. Leave them out of this!"
"I don't care," Xeeval replied coldly as he lifted his machete until it was neck level with Mira. "My orders were to kill them all. That is what I'll do."
"Nikolias," Mira whispered weakly. She had used up all of her magic in the fight and with her injury, she could barely move. "I'm sorry."
"Mira!" Erza cried out.
"Get away!" Lucy cried as she held Natsu.
"You've got to run!" Christina called out.
"Too late," Xeeval said as he brought back his blade in preparation to swing. "She dies here."
Gracie's eyes were wide with fear. 'All of this…it's all my fault. Niky's in trouble somewhere in Calione. My friends are all really hurt. Mira's about to be killed. All of this because of me.' Tears began rolling down her cheeks. 'Why? Why has nothing changed? Why can't I ever protect anyone?' She continued to weep. And then she closed her eyes and chuckled lightly. 'Damn. For a second there, I almost forgot who I am. I'm not someone who gives up. Quitting doesn't suit me. And I swore that no one else would get hurt or die protecting me.' She could feel her inner fire burning bright as her determination began to restore itself. 'And I'm not about to break that promise!'
"Mira no!" Natsu shouted as he tried to get up. However, he still couldn't move. "Damn it!"
Mira tried to will her body to move, but it wouldn't respond. "I don't want to die here," she said weakly.
"There is no avoiding it anymore," Xeeval said. "You shall be my first victim. Your friends will join you shortly if that will ease your passing."
Gracie's eyes snapped wide open, but not out of fear; it was out of anger. "I won't let you," she hissed. "I won't let you kill any of my friends!" She could feel her body becoming very hot. "Do you hear me?" she roared. Suddenly, she became engulfed in a soft, golden light that continued to grow in intensity. "I WILL PROTECT THEM EVEN IF IT KILLS ME!" The light became so bright that no one could even see Gracie.
Xeeval had to shield his eyes with his sword arm as the light illuminated the battlefield. "What is she doing?"
The light began to die away and everyone was shocked at what they saw.
"That's…," Erza began, but her words left her.
Gracie was standing there with a fierce look, but she was no longer wearing her black tank top with the golden V or her white shorts. Instead, she was wearing pitch-black armor. The breastplate covered her breasts, her sides, and her back, but left her upper chest and toned yet wounded stomach uncovered. Black metal armor covered her arms, legs and feet and she wore black gauntlets on her hands. Fierce spikes jutted out from the shoulders and the sides of her waist. Her blonde hair flowed freely behind her. Clutched in her black gauntleted hand was a massive golden sword that was thin at the base near the hilt and grew wider all the way up to the tip. The front edge of the blade was curved outward from about the middle of the blade to the tip. The back of the blade was slightly concave with small protrusions lining it like shark teeth.
Xeeval dropped Mira and turned to face Gracie. "That armor…"
Gracie spat blood off to the side before gripping the sword tightly with both gauntleted hands. Then, with a fierce battle cry, she charged forward with remarkable speed.
Xeeval readied himself, but he couldn't have been prepared for what was about to happen.
Continuing her fierce cry, Gracie swung with all of her might. The golden blade connected with Xeeval's machete and snapped it in two.
Xeeval's face showed emotion for the first time, watching in shock as the top half of his blade flew over his head. "Impossible…"
"YOU LOSE!" Gracie roared as she lifted her blade above her head. The blade suddenly became engulfed in a brilliant and bright flame. Before Xeeval could react, Gracie swiftly brought down the blade with a ferocious cry. Xeeval remained motionless for just a moment before the sound of tearing flesh could be heard. Slowly, the two halves of Xeeval the Executioner began to separate and fall to either side.
Gracie panted as she slowly straightened up and looked down at Xeeval's corpse. Her gaze was hard and angry. "Burn in hell, asshole."
Everyone was completely shocked.
"She won," Christina breathed.
"She won!" Happy cheered. "We beat him!"
Gracie closed her eyes and slowly breathed before slapping her forehead with her gauntlet. "Damn it! I got carried away. I was supposed to keep him alive to get information first."
"I doubt he was going to talk," Erza said as she limped over. "He would have bled to death before revealing anything."
"I guess."
"So what is this armor?" Erza asked. "I remember it on Tenrou, but I haven't seen it since."
Gracie looked herself over. "I really don't know. Like I said on Tenrou, I didn't even know I had it. I'm not sure how it comes out. It's weird."
"It's pretty neat," Mira said with a smile from where she was sitting.
Gracie smiled softly at her. "I'm glad to see you're alright."
"Thanks to you," Mira said with a giggle.
Gracie sighed as she collapsed to a knee, using her sword for support. "Man I'm beat!"
Erza began rummaging through her pockets. "We'll need Wendy to heal us up."
"The poor thing is exhausted, though," Mira said.
Erza smiled as she pulled out a small crystal vile of red liquid from her outfit. "We'll just have to restore her magic energy."
"The Tears of the Phoenix!" Gracie exclaimed. "I forgot all about that stuff."
Erza nodded as she slowly made her way over to Wendy. "One drop and she'll be as good as new."
Christina looked up from where she was cradling Wendy. "Where did you get something as valuable as that?"
"A gift from friends," Erza replied as she slowly lowered herself down, trying her best to ignore her pain. She opened the vile and gently dropped one drop of the liquid into Wendy's slightly agape mouth.
The young girl began to stir upon feeling the drop hit her tongue. Her eyes slowly opened. "Er…za?"
"How are you feeling?" Erza asked softly.
"I'm… a little tired." She slowly moved her head. "You're hurt, too? I need to heal you."
"Not now," Erza said. "I just gave you a drop of the Tears of the Phoenix. Give it a few minutes to work and you can start healing until your heart's content."
Wendy nodded. "Okay."
Gracie walked over to where Gray was lying down. She knelt beside him. "You still alive in there?"
"Yeah," he muttered. "That was some fight."
"You told me to kick his ass, so I did."
"I'm surprised you listened."
She pouted. "Hey."
Gray tried to sit up, but was only able to prop himself up on his elbows. "That armor is pretty cool."
Gracie held her head up high. "Well I'm a cool person, so it only makes sense." She began to look herself over again. "I don't know where it came from or how I summoned it, but I'm glad I did. Without it, I'm not sure I would have had the strength to beat Xeeval."
"You would have found a way no matter what, but it definitely saved time," Gray replied.
She giggled. "You sure have a lot of faith in me."
"That's 'cause I know what you're capable of."
"You're pretty smart for a pretty boy stripper."
"That seemed uncalled for."
"Well it wasn't."
He sighed. "I'm just glad it's all over."
"Me too." She lowered her gaze. 'But I couldn't get any more information out of Xeeval.'
Wendy stretched her arms. "Wow, I feel great! That potion we got from Blue Pegasus really is amazing!" She leapt up and ran over to Natsu and Gajeel. The two were still bleeding badly and needed support from Lucy and Levy to stay upright, but they were still conscious. "Sorry guys. I'll heal you up right away!" She placed a hand in front of Natsu and a hand in front of Gajeel and closed her eyes. "HEAVEN'S AURA!" Her small hands began to glow a soft light blue as magic began pouring into the wounds.
"Damn it. We missed the entire fight," Gajeel growled.
"My stupid body wouldn't move!" Natsu complained.
"I'm glad it wouldn't," Lucy said. "If you had started fighting in your condition you would have been killed."
"No I wouldn't have!" Natsu shot back.
Lucy wrapped her arms around Natsu's neck. "Please don't be so reckless."
Natsu pouted. "Fine. I'll be more careful."
"Thank you," she whispered.
"Are you sure that you can heal two people at once?" Christina asked as she hovered above Wendy.
Wendy nodded, but didn't speak. She was busy concentrating.
"Once those two are healed, Gray should be the next patient and then Gracie. Mira and I will go afterwards," Erza said.
Wendy lowered her hands and the light faded away. She panted heavily and wiped her brow, but did not collapse. "All done."
Natsu and Gajeel leapt to their feet. "I feel great!" Natsu shouted. "Thanks, Wendy."
Gajeel rolled his shoulders and let them crack. "Still can't believe we didn't get a single shot in."
"That's what you get for charging at an enemy that you knew nothing about," Levy scolded. "Honestly, you're so impatient."
Wendy stood and ran over to Gray and Gracie. "Okay, Gray. I'll heal you next."
"Thanks, Wendy," Gray said as the Sky Maiden got to work healing his injury with her Heaven's Aura.
Everyone gathered around the three.
"That Xeeval was something else," Panther Lily noted. "His speed, strength, and reflexes were far beyond that of a normal human being."
"Very true," Erza said while applying pressure to her wound. "He was clearly well trained."
Gracie became enveloped in the same golden glow and, when the light vanished, she was back in her black tank top and white shorts. She winced as suddenly the pain from her injury returned full force. "I'm not so sure how human that guy was. It just felt like something was…lacking. I don't know, maybe I'm paranoid."
"But what about Nikolias?" Mira asked. "As strong as Xeeval was, I still can't see him defeating Nikolias."
Gracie closed her eyes. "My best guess is that Xeeval had nothing to do with Niky's kidnapping. If he had been involved, I think Niky could have destroyed him."
"So then what happened?" Mira asked.
Gracie sighed. "Most likely that Master Jarvan guy was the one behind taking Niky to Calione." She crossed her arms. "I still don't get how he managed it, though."
"I have a question," Christina said while raising a hand. "What's a Half-Dragon?"
Gracie giggled. "Right. We never told you that part about Niky. Essentially, Niky's half dragon and half human. He can partially and fully transform into a dragon at will, provided he has the energy."
Christina's eyes widened. "R…Really?"
"There's nothing to be afraid of," Mira assured. "He's the sweetest guy."
Christina gulped. Suddenly, she was a little nervous about meeting Gracie's brother and Mira's boyfriend.
Suddenly, the sound of several heavy running footsteps came from behind the group. They all turned to see several armed soldiers pouring out of the buildings.
Gracie leapt to her feet despite her pain. "Great. More fun."
Natsu punched his palm. "Alright! We get some action now!"
Lucy stood beside him. "We need to protect Wendy, Gray, Erza, and Mira while they get healed up. Gracie, you should rest too."
"It's not that bad," Gracie said. "I'll be fine."
Wendy and Gray stood up as well. "I'm done healing Gray," Wendy said. "I'll help fight too."
"You should focus on healing," Gray said. "We've got this."
"Okay," Wendy said as she held up her hands to Gracie's back.
The soldiers all stood in front of the group, but did not raise their weapons. Instead, they waited calmly.
"What are they up to?" Gajeel asked. "Why are you all just standing there?" he called out.
"If you want trouble, we're more than happy to deal with you all," Gracie growled as she felt her back start to heal.
"Calm down," a voice called out from behind the crowd of soldiers. "My, you're just as fiery as ever."
"Who's there?" Erza called out. "Show yourself!"
A muscular and lightly armored man stepped to the front. He had short light brown hair, but the sides were silver gray. He had a large sword strapped to his back. He had a kind smile on his stubbly face. "I almost didn't recognize you. You look so different now. It's been so long since I last saw you that I wasn't sure, but that armor proves it; you're Gracie alright."
Gracie's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. "No way. Is that really you?"
The man laughed. "It has been a while, huh? Over 20 years now I guess."
Tears began to fill her eyes. "Uncle?" she whispered.
All of the Fairy Tail mages looked at Gracie. "Uncle?" they all repeated.
The man laughed again. "Hey, you recognize me!"
In that moment, Gracie forgot about the pain from her injuries. She ran forward, threw herself at the man, and embraced him tightly. "Uncle Cliff! It's really you! I thought you were dead!"
Cliff gave Gracie a bear hug. "It's good to see you again, kiddo. Man look at you all grown up. How old are you now?"
"24 but technically 31," she replied with the bubbly personality of a five year old.
He blinked. "That's…vague."
She giggled. "It's complicated."
He put a hand on her head. "You may have grown up, but a lot of you hasn't changed a bit from when you were a small fry."
Gracie pulled out of the hug, but kept a tight grip on his sides. "What are you doing here? Seriously, I thought you were dead."
"Well I'm clearly not," he said. "Sorry to lie to you, but your parents had to tell you that story. They couldn't really tell you the truth."
"The truth? About your being alive?"
He sighed. "About everything."
She raised an eyebrow as her arms fell to her side. "What are you talking about?"
He took her hand. "I suppose you have every right to know now that you're so deeply involved." He began walking back the way he came. "Come with me. I'll explain everything to you."
"Wait, what about my friends?" she asked as she walked with him.
"They can come listen if it's what you want. My men will help move the injured."
"Alright. I'd like them there."
"As you wish."
The Fairy Tail group followed Gracie and Cliff and the soldiers followed in turn. They all moved towards a large abandoned house on the outskirts of the recent battlefield. The soldiers showed the injured Erza and Mira to a couple of beds that were set up. Everyone else sat with Cliff at a nearby table. Wendy began healing Gracie's wounds.
Cliff sat sideways in his chair and rested an arm on the poorly built wooden table. "You wanna wait until those injuries get healed up first? Some of them are pretty nasty."
"I'm fine," Gracie assured.
"If you say so. So tell me, kiddo; what have you been up to all of these years?"
"Can I tell you later?" Gracie asked as she leaned forward in her chair. "I want to know what you were talking about before."
Cliff ran a hand through his short hair. "Yeah, I know. How about after then?"
Gracie nodded emphatically. "Okay, deal!"
He turned in his chair so that he could prop both elbows on the table top. "Let me start off by apologizing. Your parents and I never wanted you to have this kind of life and to get involved in any of this, yet here you are."
"That apology may mean more to me when I understand what's going on," Gracie said.
He chuckled. "Logical as always." He took a deep breath. "So much to tell. Where to begin?"
"How much is there to tell?" she asked.
He leaned forward, his eyes showing slight sorrow. "I'm going to tell you a story that began before you were even born. By the end of it, you'll know the whole truth; what kind of lives your parents lived, why you were told I was killed, why your parents were killed, why you have that armor that you fought in, and why you're being pursued by such dangerous killers."
Gracie could feel her heart beating loudly in her chest. "Wow. That's a lot. What about Niky?"
"Niky?"
"My brother."
"Brother?" he repeated in surprise.
"Yeah. He was apparently taken by this guy named Jarvan."
He sighed again. "Fantastic. Well, if this Niky fellow was taken by Jarvan, then you'll know why he was taken as well." He gave her a soft smile. "I know it's a lot. It's not too late to back out, kiddo."
She shook her head. "No. I want to know. I need to know. All of it. Don't leave anything out or sugar coat anything."
"I thought so." He leaned back in his chair. "Okay then. I guess I'll start the story roughly 32 years ago, just before you were born."
