Ultimate Fairy
Chapter 62: Tenrou Island
Part I
…
Last time on Ultimate Fairy…
"Oh and what pray tell are you then, you hurt quite a bit of people yourself, face it Levin, you and I are the same." the prisoner said to him.
"I ain't here to trade blows Aggregor, I'm here to ask how you tracked Ben's Ultimatrix way back when." Kevin said as Aggregor was able to track Ben like no one else ever could, Ben's watches were all able to be tracked by Plumber technology as it put out a signal plumbers could reach, but Aggregor could track him without it.
"And why should I tell you, if the brat is lost he can stay that way!" Aggregor said having no love for Ben either.
"Because if you don't we have a nicer cell we can put you in, it was meant for Vilgax and was near a black hole, only plumber tech can be safely protected, so you'd be there more alone than ever with no chance of escape." Kevin said as if it was good enough for Vilgax it was good enough for this guy.
Aggregor weighed his options and sighed "Azmuth's little toy sends out a unique energy pulse for all its functions, it lets out a short burst when it scans and he changes the energy flares and you can trace the natural energy it uses from then on, satisfied?" he asked sarcastically.
"Yeah I am." Kevin said as that seemed legit in his mind.
"Levin, a free bit of advice." Aggregor said as Kevin stopped to look at him "There has been something bothering me, have you ever met another Osmosian like me?" he asked him.
"How is that advice?" Kevin asked as it was a question.
"Because it's supposed to make you think, all I've done is think in this hell." Aggregor said bitterly "But answer the question what are we Osmosians?" he asked as that was something that bothered him.
Kevin thought that was obvious given they both absorbed energy, but couldn't think of anything else, he left without another word.
…
Ben and Rex were catching dinner using their powers to catch fish.
"You know everyone is cheating right?" Rex asked Ben curiously as he spotted a few people trying to use their magic to hedge their bets on the trial.
Ben nodded "Use your goggles and look at the railing." he said to him bringing up a bubble filled with two fish.
Rex did as asked and saw writing all around the railing.
"Freed did that the first day and Levy noticed." Ben said guessing Levy was gonna piggyback off of Freed's idea as she could easily escape.
"How'd you see it?" Rex asked wondering how Ben could see it as he didn't see him transform at all.
Ben's eyes turned pink "Mana vision." he said as his eyes were working in many different spectrums like this and he could see Freed's magic as easily as Rex could with his goggles.
"So what else did you learn from your grandma?" Rex asked as Verdona messing with him was too much, he honestly thought Bobo looked tame in comparison to the woman.
"Well, Mana vision, mana manipulation, and mana sensory." Ben said as he couldn't sense things like Gwen, but his sensory acted more like sonar and radar making him more aware.
"What's mana manipulation?" Rex asked as the first and last ones were self-explanatory.
"I can manipulate mana in things either draw from them or change my own mana and even heal someone." Ben said as he liked this skill most as now he'd at least be able to offer more than just combat and firepower, he could now heal someone.
Rex had to admit that sounded useful, especially for people like them who were always in the dead center of combat and taking more direct injuries "You tell Wendy?" he asked thinking that'd be something he'd share with his daughter given her healer status.
"No." Ben said to him "Healing with mana is different than how Wendy does it, I don't want her to accidentally hurt someone, because she didn't practice it properly, I'll tell her afterward and show her what my grandmother showed me." he said not denying this to Wendy, but wanted to show her safely.
As Ben and Rex talked, Wendy was in the back of the ship staring at the water intently.
"Some tea for your nerves?" Pantherlily asked his partner sitting near her.
Wendy accepted it and took a small sip.
"Are you nervous?" Pantherlily asked as it was a question he felt needed to be asked as she was the youngest and had the least experience compared to the others.
"A little bit." Wendy said to her "You realize everyone is cheating right?" she asked her partner.
"Of course, this is not a battle, but a contest with no rules besides the obvious." Pantherlily said as he saw all their movements as the ship had no places to hide and they all stood above deck "The real question is how are you going to cheat?" he asked her as he was still coming up with strategies.
"I think me and my dad had the same idea." Wendy said as she was inside the ship the other day and looking around her father doing the same "I think we found a way to get past Freed's magic." she said to him.
Pantherlily was curious wondering if it was a good idea to use the same idea as someone else, but if that idea was the only idea to get away from Freed's barrier he had no problems.
As they talked Wendy kept looking at the water something catching her eye every few moments.
…
The day was hot as everyone was above deck feeling the gentle sea breeze, waiting around to reach the island.
Ben was thinking they were close as Makarov wasn't drinking and hadn't tasted a drop of booze all day was a noticeable sign given the man drank almost as much as Cana herself, he sent a short look to Rex going below deck where they saw Wendy and Pantherlily looking at the below deck window of the ship.
"Temporary alliance?" Pantherlily suggested as if they fought down here everyone would follow.
"Your call kid I'm game for either." Ben said as he'd give Wendy the choice of fight or flight.
Wendy nodded as there was no chance she could win in this fight and it'd be better to eliminate most of the competition than just risking it all in one fight.
"You know out of everyone here, I think you have the biggest chance to make S-class." Ben said to her "I've watched you grow in this short time Wendy and you are S-class material, I know it, master knows it, and Erza knew it, she recommended you." he said as Erza told him before she left.
Rex and Pantherlily saw the tender moment between father and daughter and smiled at it was a nice sight, but the moment soon ended when they heard the master above deck call out the beginning of the trials.
All four of them jumped out the window Pantherlily locking onto Wendy's back and Ben changing into Jetray all of them flying to the island soon all four teams made it to the island and now all of them were looking at the paths.
"This looks like it requires more brain power." Jetray said hitting the dial "Brainstorm!" he said as he looked at all the paths "Hmmm three S-class and twin roads that lead to an all-out fight with another team and the safe path." he said analyzing each road "This one." he said grabbing Rex scuttling away.
Wendy decided to stick with what she knew best and smelled the wind and smelled a heavy concentration of seawater coming from two paths 'S-class mage wouldn't be a good fight.' she thought to herself as this path had to be the one for where two teams battled, she went down one of the paths with Pantherlily.
Gajeel saw how Wendy picked her path 'Barely any scent coming from those two.' he thought as air was flowing less through those, he grabbed Levy and went through one of them.
…
"Who do you think we will face?" Pantherlily asked her curiously as they had been waiting a while so he was assuming none of the other teams took the second path that lead here meaning their opponent was someone from the boat.
Wendy did a count 'There was Cana, Natsu, Elfman, and Juvia.' she thought to herself hoping it wasn't Juvia as being so close to the water gave the water mage the advantage.
They heard loud footsteps and readied themselves for whomever approached.
"Elfman?" Wendy said surprised to see him and Evergreen here.
"Wendy?" Elfman said in surprise that he got Wendy as his opponent.
"I shall take him." Pantherlily said as he stepped forward only for Wendy to step in front of him "Wendy?" he asked the girl wondering what she was intending to do.
"This is my fight Pantherlily, you can have Evergreen." Wendy said shocking everyone there.
"Wendy Elfman has some of your father's powers, are you certain?" Pantherlily asked as Elfman and Wendy were opposites in most if not all areas.
"I brought you as my partner to cover my weaknesses Pantherlily, not fight for me." Wendy said as wind began to pour out of her blowing outwardly "So Elfman, are you man enough to take me on or am I gonna have an easy win?" she asked him not backing down and making her stand.
"Let's go!" Elfman said to her feeling nothing but respect for his opponent and her conviction "Take Over: Chimera!" he roared out as two magic circles appeared one below and one above him.
Everyone watched as his skin became crimson he grew an extra set of arms and his natural arms increased in size and the eye on the right side of his face split into two orange ones.
"Four Arms." Wendy said as it was obvious "Must suck." she said before running at him wind encasing her fist sending him back a few feet "That form isn't ready." she said as the differences alone showed that.
"It might not be ready, but it's good enough!" Elfman said as this form was the one he was working hardest to attain as the extra arms and strength truly gave him more of an edge in combat, it wasn't animal based so he had difficulties and he was learning about it in secret from Ben and Mira.
"I guess it is just you and me Evergreen." Pantherlily said as he grew and quickly ripped off some of his bandages "Your magic requires eyesight if I'm not mistaken." he said hearing about her stone eyes from Gajeel as they traded some info about the weaknesses of the other teams earlier, he tied the ripped bandages around his eyes and readied his sword.
"Sight or no sight you're going to lose cat." Evergreen said knowing she'd have to be careful as from what she could tell he was using his other senses to compensate.
Wendy saw Elfman's arms each gaining a different species 'Knew this wasn't gonna be easy.' she thought to herself knowing she would have to fight and earn S-class.
…
"So it's the clowns." Gajeel said as he saw Freed and Bickslow arrive "You take on the pretty boy." he said to Levy as he was not dumb enough to think he could take on Freed given the magic rules he made for himself and his traps.
"You think you can-!?" Bickslow was saying till he looked at Gajeel's soul and saw something dark and monstrous in him.
"While I was training I asked Loki for some info." Gajeel said as he knew little on the Thunder Legion and he didn't like that so he asked Loki when he made a surprise visit to the guild to check on Gray as they apparently made a deal if one of them was an S-class nominee and the other wasn't they'd help each other, but since Gray wasn't picked Loki was there to cheer him up "You can see souls right, well how's mine look?" he asked grinning wildly as he entered his Iron Nightmare mode.
"Bickslow?" Freed asked wondering what his friend was seeing as his 'babies' fell to the floor "What did you do?!" he asked Gajeel urgently.
"My new Dragon Slayer Secret Art, I call it Cursed Soul." Gajeel said as there was something about his recently acquired mode he never told Ben, he felt the intense desire to cause fear into his opponents and the mode more than allowed it, it felt like he needed to do it and to make it even more terrifying the corrodium in him seemed to act on itself on occasion making him deadlier and more terrifying, the spell itself made his opponents shake in terror, but given Bickslow's magic he had a more detailed gaze of the spell.
Levy was feeling the effect of Gajeel's art, but felt odd as while she felt danger, she didn't feel it was directed at her in any way.
"Guess, you and me are gonna have a go after all pretty boy, your friend is paralyzed with fear." Gajeel said creating an Iron Club and striking Bickslow in his face as he didn't know how long the effect of his spell would work, he made his Iron Sword and approached Freed seeing him draw his own blade "Your not running perfect." he said as this was gonna be fun.
Levy was in awe seeing Gajeel keep up with Freed so easily 'Should I try and learn more attack magic?' she thought as while she could cast a good spell or two she was nowhere in Gajeel's league of fighting.
…
Makarov was chuckling to himself as he sensed his children's magic some starting their matches, he saw Erza arrive with Juvia and Lisanna 'Yikes and she was the one who nominated her.' she thought feeling bad for the water mage as Erza didn't pull any punches it seemed.
"Greetings master how are the other participants?" Erza asked him curiously.
"Levy and Gajeel are fighting Freed and Bickslow." Makarov said as being on this island gave his senses a bit of extra reach given the relationship it had with their guild marks "Wendy is fighting Elfman." he said thinking that was an interesting lineup as it was strength vs power.
Erza seemed interested in that fight as she heard from others of Elfman's success in learning a few Take Overs revolving around Ben's alien forms and Wendy had been working tirelessly to improve upon her own strength with mana and magic 'It'll be interesting to see who between my and Mira's picks who will win' she thought as she had full faith in Wendy's abilities as she had no doubt she would come far in this trial.
They were soon interrupted by a pillar of fire.
Makarov's every instinct was telling him it was Natsu, but something seemed off with the flame in comparison to Natsu's.
Erza knew immediately that it wasn't Natsu's as his flames were slightly more chaotic and another thing that gave her an odd feeling was that small pebbles and rocks were moving toward it.
…
Gildarts was amazed by what he was seeing, a pillar of flames bursting up from where he was and it wasn't coming from Natsu, but Happy.
Happy had fire pouring from all around him, he just witnessed Gildarts blow Natsu away vanishing without a trace "I won't forgive you!" he said as his body began to glow brightly and rock shapes formed around him.
'Heatblast.' Gildarts thought remembering Ben using him in their fight, before anything could be said Happy shot at him like a literal fireball 'So he can fly and shoot fire.' he thought to himself wondering how Happy would do now as well.
…
'Attaboy.' Mira thought to herself feeling Happy's magic and the pillar he made, during their training to help him develop Take Over, she learned Happy had her unique method of Take Over, needing material from what she was absorbing, the stones that Heatblast had covering his body were more living than actual stones "It's about time you got here Ben." she said as she saw he and Rex walked preserving energy 'They had to.' she thought as Ben had a limited amount of battery and Rex's body condition affected his builds.
"Still can't believe you chose S-class battle." Rex said as before changing back Brainstorm told him this was an S-class path.
"Hey I wanted to earn my rank, and I had no idea who we'd face." Ben said as it was true as while Brainstorm could tell what path was which, he didn't know who was on which path.
Mira smiled at that always looking for a challenge and always willing to earn the things he fought for "You should know Happy learned to Take Over some of your aliens Ben, he's fighting Gildarts as we speak." she said thinking he'd like to know that tidbit of info as she knew the island layout and Gildarts was at that exact location.
Ben looked in the distance to see a lot of fire and had a guess as he remembered Mira ripping off pieces of Heatblast before.
"And he's not the only one Ben." Mira said as her eyes glowed a few shades of colors.
"Um quick question, how many of your aliens does she have?" Rex asked him as he remembered his Mira and this Mira was equally as terrifying and even more so with her magic.
"To be perfectly honest I have no idea, when we trained together, she was kinda brutal." Ben said learning firsthand why she was called 'The Demon', but they fought daily trying to push the limit of each other's forms.
"Oh Ben you're gonna make me blush, but oh well a blushing bride." Mira said as she glowed brightly.
"Bride?" Ben and Rex asked very confused why she said that.
The glow around Mira died down and Mira looked, exactly the same as her human self, but she had scars going down both her eyes in a similar fashion to her Satin Soul, but instead of a one-piece she was wearing a white beautiful and elegant summer dress and her skin was deathly pale, but the most noticeable thing was she had two machine parts coming out her back "You once told me the story of the monster, you named Frankenstrike after, well this is my version." she said with an evil grin.
"Oh, crap." Ben said activating the Omnitrix and slamming down on the icon of his desired hero "Feedback!" he said loudly "I wouldn't touch her, she's like a live power cable." he said to Rex who made his Slam Cannon.
"Sorry, Ben." Mira said as while her body was different, she retained all her combat experience so she dashed to them "But I won't give you time to prepare!" she said punching Feeback's face and kicked Rex's stomach "Training time is over, this is the real thing." she said blasting lightning at Rex.
Feedback rushed her dodging her punches as while not the more strength-based, Feedback had amazing reflexes, he jumped behind Mira and grabbed her tesla coils and plugged his hair cords into her sides, and began to drain her.
"Oh no, you don't!" Mira said changing again, her body igniting her hair becoming fire and her body gaining a red rocky and burning glow "Happy wasn't the only one who absorbed Heatblast's stones." she said having her back exploding outwardly sending Feedback flying, she raised her hand stopping a flying rock sent her way "Better Rex, but next time aim for the back of the head." she said as she caught him in the corner of her eye loading his Slam Cannon "But nice shot all the same." she said igniting his own shot and sending it flying back to Rex hitting him square in his chest.
"Ben have any water guys?" Rex asked curiously as his chest hurt from getting struck with his own ammo.
"Yeah, but I can't transform." Feedback said getting up as with all the training he did with Mira, she possibly knew all his weaknesses for many of his form and he still had no clue what forms she had, he needed to fight in a way she didn't expect "Time to change the rules." he said slamming the dial "Gravattack yes!" he said increasing the gravity around them.
Mira felt the increase but slammed her flamming heel onto the ground and began to walk.
"Dude it's not working!" Rex said to him in panic wondering how much force he was putting on her.
"This the best you got Ben, I'm disappointed and here I thought you'd put up more of a fight!" Mira said running to him and with each footstep she took cracking the ground when she got close she punched the red spot on his stomach sending him back, with gravity back to its normal state she caught a whip aimed at her neck, and even as she felt a strong electrical surge she was unmoving.
"What is this woman made of!" Rex said as the power he used was enough to hurt a giant predator 'This is enough of a charge to make a cattle prod look like a taser!' he thought to himself.
"Rays of sunshine, rainbows, and all that's cute and cuddly." Mira said as she grabbed her end of Rex's whip and held it tightly as she began swinging him and slamming him into the ground repeatedly, she stopped when hearing a growl behind her and saw Ben now as Blitzwolfer "Awe so adorable." she said as she transformed again looking perfectly human having gold jewelry in her hair, wearing a pure white robe, her arms covered in bandages "I named this one Cleo after the queen you mentioned." she said as this transformation was thanks to Snare-Oh and she asked about his unique fashion and Ben went on and told her about Cleopatra a queen renowned for her beauty and with all the gold decorating her and the robe that hugged her tightly, she felt queenly "And you need to be leashed!" she said sending her wrappings at Blitzwolfer and wrapped them around his neck effectively leashing him.
'Ok, this is humiliating.' Blitzwolfer thought opening his mouth before dropping as he heard something high-pitched and clutched his ears.
Mira having had many Take Overs gave her senses beyond human so she heard the high-pitched noise as well 'What is that, a whistle?' she thought unable to pinpoint it as it was loud and powerful.
…
"Wendy what are you doing!" Pantherlily asked covering his ears and dodging shots of magic from Evergreen.
"Was that an animal whistle?" Elfman asked wondering why she would use that "Wendy I only have animal arms, I don't have the ears." he said as his hearing operated in the normal range.
"It wasn't for you." Wendy said to him.
Elfman was curious about that and soon the room near the shore became darker as a giant grey creature rose from the water near the island.
Wendy smiled seeing the mother Krakken as on the way to Tenrou she spotted a familiar shape in the water following them, but she had a good idea what it was and what was following it, she pointed at Elfman and the mother Krakken growled sending one of her tendrils at him then at Evergreen who was still in shock of the creature.
'Now this is a fish that would be worthy of hunting.' Pantherlily thought liking to fight and earn his meals, but immediately killed that thought as Wendy petted her and a smaller version of the creature "You know this is cheating right?" he asked as the door opened up for them.
"I like to call it taking advantage of our surroundings." Wendy said as it was true, she didn't purposely bring the creature here as it followed her.
Pantherlily let out a loud laugh at that remark as Wendy was quick on the draw 'She truly looks up to you Ben.' he thought as he could see the resemblance even if they didn't share blood, Wendy idolized Ben wanting to be just like him.
…
'Well, that was unexpected.' Mira thought as she saw the giant creature, but still felt the magic of the participants, she believed this was just a random occurrence or whoever was there caused the animal to attack.
"Rex now!" Blitzwolfer said to his teammate.
'Amateur!' Mira thought turning around sending her bandages forward to Rex, but to her surprise, he had made gauntlets that were making a shield 'Wait!' she thought in realization as she turned around and no longer felt her bandages around Blitzwolfer's neck and saw his mouth part open and blast her with a sonic howl.
Rex smiled in his bubble shield feeling it shake from the power of the howl 'She may be able to fight gravity, but let's see her fight sound.' he thought to himself.
Mira knew she was between a rock and a hard place as she couldn't attack without leaving herself open and being under the noise of the howl was not helping as Rex would assist Ben in whatever play he had "I surrender!" she said as they had worked as a team and truly thought they had her pinned.
"C'mon Rex." Blitzwolfer said transforming into XLR8 and dashing as he grabbed his friend.
…
Gildarts saw Happy carry Natsu as he was still in a state of fear-induced shock from witnessing his true power, he was truly amazed by Natsu as he remembered when he was a child and a Vulcan had captured Lisanna and gave Natsu a choice to bow his head and apologize to him at first he thought, there was not a chance in hell of him doing it as Natsu prided in himself wanting to be seen as strong, but to everyone's shock, he bowed his head 'Putting your pride aside when things are most important is a great and defining trait in a man Natsu.' he thought to himself with a smile as while still immature Natsu had all the makings of S-class deep in his soul.
…
"Are we first?" Ben asked as he and Rex saw Makarov.
"Yes." Makarov said as he sensed most of the participants were finished and taking a rest before coming here "Ben might I have a moment?" he asked sending a look to Rex who caught on and walked away "Ben do you know how S-class are chosen?" he asked him curiously.
"I assumed they had to show ability and skill to be chosen." Ben said as he remembered that there were certain traits they looked for.
"Yes, but that is part of it, not the entire thing." Makarov said to him "S-class trials take in your job success rate, your development, your character, and lastly your combat skills." he said to him.
"You can't make someone an S-class if you know they can mess up severely." Ben said as S-class jobs involved a lot more than just fighting, one needed to think, one needed to adapt, and one needed to know when and how to fight.
"Yes, Erza, Mira, Gildarts, Mystogan, and even Laxus knew of this." Makarov said as it was a close thing with Laxus as Gildarts spoke up on his behalf thinking he'd grow out of his rebellion.
"Why tell me this?" Ben asked as he got that this was important, but wondered why he was telling him this.
"Because Ben, with all that has happened and all that you've done, you've shown bravery, compassion, wisdom, and honor." Makarov said as these were not just his words, but the words of his S-class mages "You are an S-class Ben Tennyson, the test is merely a formality, but pass or fail you are from this day forward and S-class." he said proudly.
Ben was surprised by this announcement "Wait what about the others?" he asked him curiously.
"They still have a chance to gain the rank, it's rare, but there are exceptions to this test." Makarov said remembering when Erza and Mira took their test and were literally tearing apart the island, so he made them both S-class for peace of mind.
"So who do you think is gonna win?" Ben asked sitting next to him.
"Juvia, Freed, and Elfman have been eliminated." Makarov said letting him know the options.
"So Wendy, Natsu, Levy, and Cana." Ben said to him "I gotta go with Wendy, she's proven her mettle in a short time at the guild." he said as Makarov had to agree.
"What about Levy?" Makarov asked him curiously, wondering what he thought about his pick.
Ben thought on it for a moment "No." he said simply "Levy may be the smartest person in the guild, but I've seen her fight without backup she couldn't take down a Vulcan." he said as it was not personal, but Levy lacked brawn or magical might.
Makarov saw his point as while magical and physical might was not a defining trait to a mage it was incredibly useful as Levy needed to grow and perhaps this test could help her realize that.
…
"Hey, Cana look at this." Lucy said looking at a nearby flowerbed.
Cana would have loved to stop and smell the roses but she wanted to get to the end, but she noticed something Lucy was trying to point out "What the hell?" she asked as there were flowers that look rotted for lack of a better word as dead didn't seem to cover it.
In the distance, a wolf that had no wounds was seemingly bleeding internally as blood came out its mouth, but the strange thing was it wasn't red, but purple.
…
"About time you got here Gajeel." Ben said seeing his roommate join them.
"So me and the squirt got second place." Gajeel said seeing Ben and Rex "Who'd you fight?" he asked wondering what poor soul got Ben.
"I got Mira, you?" Ben asked him curiously seeing cuts on his shirt and wondering if he got Erza.
"Freed and congrats you have officially beaten all of Fairy Tail's S-class." Gajeel said as that made Ben top dog even more than his fight with Gildarts.
"We're here!" Lucy said as she and Cana came running to them.
"And the bikinis get bronze." Gajeel said giving them a slow clap.
"Wait we beat Natsu here?" Lucy asked never thinking they'd be able to beat Natsu here.
"We're right here." Happy said covered in soot as before he realized Gildarts merely broke Natsu apart like Cannonbolt, he unleashed a lot of flames at Gildarts and blew a lot of his magic and Natsu was still a little shell shocked so they walked here.
"Where's Wendy?" Ben asked not seeing his daughter anywhere.
They were all hit with the foul stench and looked around and saw Wendy and Pantherlily covered in kelp.
"Wendy the hell have you been, low tide!?" Ben asked as the stench was foul.
Wendy's father hadn't been far off as she gave the baby Krakken some attention as it was too adorable to deny a few pets, but being so close to the water they were too late to see the tide coming in.
"Where are the others?" Cana asked not seeing the other teams.
"They were defeated and are being watched by the other S-class." Makarov said as he conjured some water and blasted Wendy clean of seaweed and getting rid of the smell "Now for the next part of the trials, you will all search for the first master's grave." he said to them explaining how finding the location was the next part.
They all took off in multiple directions when he told them they had six hours starting now.
"Where do you think it is?" Rex asked Ben.
"Honestly could be anywhere, I mean we're on an island, the only place I'm sure it's not is by the shore." Ben said as it had to be deeper inward.
…
Wendy and Pantherlily were flying around hoping to get a bird's eye view.
"Any ideas where the grave could be?" Wendy asked her partner.
"Maybe at the base of the tree?" Pantherlily suggested having no better ideas as this was an island "Let me ask you something, how would you bury the dead?" he asked as there were various methods of how one sent off their dead, burning, letting them sink into the ocean, putting them on a boat letting it drift before firing a flaming arrow, burying them, there were many methods to choose from.
"Well, this is the first master of our guild so maybe somewhere with a view?" Wendy said not at all sure as all she could really find out about the first master was that she created three Fairy spells and that she started the guild.
Pantherlily looked around and with an island like this there were plenty of views "Is it odd some tree seems to think it's Fall?" he asked seeing some trees with orange leaves
Wendy wondered why those trees seemed to be like that compared to the rest of the island, they landed at the closest tree.
"This is odd." Pantherlily said as he walked and touched the tree 'This tree is dead' he thought to himself as the tree was hard yet brittle at the same time.
"You should be careful." a voice said startling the two.
Both turned to see a man with black hair and wore black and white robes, he seemed normal, but both mages knew there was something off about him.
'Nothing.' Pantherlily thought as that was what was making his hair stand on end, this man gave no alert to his presence and had no scent to him, he was just there as if he existed and didn't at the same time.
Wendy felt all the mana in her body was acting erratic as if this place or this man was giving her a sense of danger.
"You shouldn't go forward Wendy, there is something here, something that reeks of death." the man said to her as if sounding like he spoke from experience.
"How do you know her name and who are you?" Pantherlily said demandingly as it was dangerous for the enemy to know you and for you to not know the enemy.
"Yeah, who are you!?" Wendy said as she didn't know this man yet he knew her, to her that raised many flags.
"Zeref." Zeref said as he began to walk forward walking past the pair that froze at the mention of his name.
'The Black Wizard.' Wendy thought freezing in fear as speaking to him put her on edge to hear he was the wizard that most if not all dark guilds followed and worshipped and the maker of demons that belonged to the books of Zeref was a frightening thought "Go find the master, we haven't been gone too long or gotten too far." she said to Pantherliy.
"Wendy what are you planning." Pantherlily said as it was not a question but a straightforward demand as Wendy didn't include herself in that plan.
"We can leave him alone someone needs to keep an eye on him." Wendy said as she looked at Zeref "And look ahead, he's following the dead trees." she said as if Zeref was interested in it, it screamed bad news, she dashed off after him leaving Pantherlily.
Pantherlily rushed to find someone or anyone as that man was not someone he could beat all on his own.
"You know my name." Wendy said walking next to him.
"Yes, I do." Zeref said to her "I know all the true-born dragon slayers." he said to her.
"Why are you here, why are you on our sacred ground, why now of all times?" Wendy asked firing question after question wanting to know his motives and reasoning for being here.
Zeref looked at her and smiled making her uncomfortable "You have certainly come into your own Wendy, I still remember you crying when Natsu and Gajeel fought." he said gaining a sentimental look on his face.
Wendy was becoming nervous and wondered what he meant 'I didn't know Natsu or Gajeel till two months ago.' he thought to herself wondering what he meant when he said that "Do you know what's killing these trees?" she asked him.
"Yes and no." Zeref said as Wendy gave him a look that said she was done with him not making sense "Don't look at the trees, look at the ground." he said to her sagely.
Wendy looked down and saw many of the trees were dead, but the grass was still alive, at least in some parts and when she looked at the dead grass she saw droplets of something purple.
"I believe it's blood." Zeref said to her speaking as if he was a professional "It belongs to a species I am unfamiliar with." he said as that alone made him curious as to how that was "The blood is more evil and dark than anything I have created before." he said sounding very serious "Strange." he said seeing Wendy touch the purple substance "It's like acid yet it evaporates in your hand." he said as he even saw a bit of life be restored to the dead things she passed or touch "How are you doing this?" he asked her as this was fascinating to his mind.
Wendy restrained her mana as she didn't want to reveal anything to this man 'My mana doesn't like it.' she thought as when she 'touched' the purple substance it felt like her man was preventing it from touching her skin destroying it.
They both kept walking till they saw a wounded wolf covered in purple blood resting at the base of a tree and saw things dying around it.
"Is it dead?" Wendy asked as she approached it.
"I am…unsure?" Zeref said in confusion as he felt both life and death coming from this animal, it was curious and an enigma, he watched Wendy approach it and began to heal it 'Odd.' he thought as the creature was healing despite the purple blood, but what seemed strangest was it seemed to be absorbing all excess power coming from Wendy's healing spell as if it was draining her and using her to heal.
'What is this?' Wendy thought as it felt like her power was gushing out of her.
They both watched the wolf twitch and open its eyes and saw a bright purple glow 'What is this?' they thought.
Before anything could be said they saw a transparent figure rose from the wolf it seemed to leak out death, it seemed both wounded and strong it shot out to Zeref was bounced off him unable to enter him.
'Spiritual possession?' Zeref thought as he had seen magic like that before.
"Strange, I can't possess you." Zs'Skayr said looking at Wendy "But her on the other hand." he said as his upside-down mouth smiled.
Wendy saw it dash right at her, she sent a punch at his face, but her fist went right through his face and then, it stabbed her and all she could feel was agony and vile evil and she could only do what any other person would in her position, she screamed.
Zeref listened to Wendy let out her roar-like scream seeing her eyes turn from brown to a glowing purple, the white of her eyes becoming black, her blue hair becoming a dark purple with black crack-like lines on it, her skin lost color and became paler, she also gained black feathers at her ankles and wrists 'This creature is pushing her body to the dragon force.' he thought not sure if he was impressed or horrified as forcing the body of a Dragon Slayer seemed dangerous and suicidal.
…
Grandeeney saw everything inside Wendy's mind…die, all the flowers and nature withered, the sky turned black, the pure white clouds turned into storm clouds, even the sun faded away becoming the moon, but that wasn't the worst thing, the worst thing was that Wendy appeared in this place and she didn't look at all like the sweet girl she knew.
"This girl is pure power!" Zs'Skayr said through Wendy "The power of magic and mana are mine!" he or rather she said laughing maniacally "And what's this?" he said fully taking in the girl's appearance and looked at the jacket being reminded of only one person "Tennyson, who is this girl." she said before looking deep into the girl's mind and laughed "His daughter!" he said laughing again "I truly found the perfect host, oh little girl you and I are going to be spending much time together." she said laughing again.
Grandeeney felt helpless as this creature was possessing her daughter and she couldn't do a thing about it 'Ben Tennyson please save her.' she thought looking at her daughter with an emotion she never thought she'd feel, fear.
…
Ben felt a deep chill run down his spine as he heard a loud roar 'Wendy?' he thought curiously wondering if she was ok 'It's a test, she should be fine, hell that might have been a Sky Dragon roar.' he thought trying to calm himself and was failing.
"You alright?" Rex asked him.
"I'm not sure." Ben said as he heard something and it brought him all sorts of worry and concern.
"Hey, you have an alien that can dig?" Rex asked getting his answer in the form of Ben transforming into Armadrillo.
"You have an idea?" Armadrillo asked curiously.
"Yeah, I've been underground a few times and thought what if we could use that and we passed by some caves which got me thinking if we could map the underground terrain." Rex said to him.
"Hmmm." Armadrillo said as he slammed his drill arm down and his metal bar raised high before slamming down and rising again only for the process to repeat.
"What are you doing?" Rex asked curiously.
"It's a form of geo sonar I developed in this form, I can always tell if I'm up down, left right or wherever and can sense things close to me, I'm sending out waves of force listening to the ground getting a literal lay of the land." Armadrillo said to him as he soon stopped and pulled his arm up "There aren't any caves near the back of the island, but only the front." he said to him as it seemed only the front half of the island was touched.
"That saves us on time, how many paths were underground?" Rex asked him.
Armadrillo changed back to Ben "Six, but I think I know which one it is." he said to him.
"Which cave?" Rex asked him wondering how he guessed so fast.
"Path E's cave, it has to be it." Ben said as he felt that was a hint when Makarov said six hours, he thought it might've been a hint or he was being crazy which was also an option "Cana and I took paths that were outside, the safe path and the one with Mira, and four teams battled in a vs match meaning the four paths colliding are out." he said to him.
"Which leaves the S-class paths meaning Erza or Gildarts' path." Rex said as it made sense to make sure the grave was in the least likely place people would see or be unable to tell others about if they were going to lose and to have the grave be on the most guarded path of the test made the most sense.
"You think it's weird?" Ben asked him as they walked to the front of the island.
"Is what weird?" Rex asked him curiously.
"That we're looking for death." Ben said not sure why he used that turn of phrase but just felt like it was appropriate and extremely accurate.
…
"You heard that too?" Natsu asked hearing the roar and ran to it as while it was a roar there was a sound of pain in it, he saw Gajeel as he ran.
"Yeah." Gajeel said seeing Happy wasn't with Natsu, he himself left Levy somewhere with no animals in the immediate vicinity "I don't smell or see Ben lucky for us." he said to him as he was thinking if Ben found out Wendy was harmed there wouldn't be an island left.
Natsu had to agree as he hoped Wendy was ok, but that roar she let out, and it was not a sound they wouldn't want to hear from Wendy as it sounded like a dying roar, a creature's last sound of defiance, or the final thing they could say.
They both made it to the location where the roar came from and saw Wendy was not alone.
"Who are ya pal?" Gajeel asked in a demanding tone "Shrimp are you alright?" he asked not knowing who this was and Wendy just stood there.
Natsu and Gajeel didn't hear a response from Wendy.
"Wendy?" Natsu asked as he approached her steadily as something felt off.
"I wouldn't go near her Natsu." Zeref said as while he was overjoyed to see Natsu, he was concerned for his safety.
"I'd listen to him Natsu." 'Wendy' said as she looked at them shocking them with her eyes and the vicious smile on her face, the one that looked even more vicious than Gajeel's even his Iron Nightmare form paled to this.
Natsu remembered those eyes "I remember you, from the Entrapment spell, you're Ghostfreak!" he said as he glared at him.
Zeref was surprised at the mention of that spell from Natsu's mouth "Ben Tennyson." he said out loud as he had suffered from the spell as well, he made the spell in order to claim his life, but he refused as the spell showed him that he did in fact wished to live…at the time at least, but he still felt remnants of the spell in him, he could sometimes feel echos of those who were later effected by it and were consumed by it, but a few months ago he felt something different, it was an echo, but different than the others and all he got from it was a name, Ben Tennyson.
"Guess you're smarter than people give you credit Natsu." Zs'Skayr-Wendy said giving him a small clap "I am here on a mission and you fools are going to help me." she said to them as they glared at her "And if you know me, you know I have no problem killing this girl." she said as she raised her hands and showed her black nails which extended and sharpened and brought them to her neck giving Wendy's body a little nick as blood came out.
Natsu glared at him "You're bluffing!" he said angrily "The sun is out and you need a host to survive, this shade ain't enough." he said igniting his fire which shined brightly "And if you leave her body I'll make sure you fry!" he said making his own threat.
Zs'Skayr-Wendy had to give Natsu some credit for calling his bluff "Fine, you made your point and I'll even reward you for it." she said smiling at them "Your island is about to be invaded by Grimoire Heart, they want him." she said looking at Zeref "And their master Hades stole something from me and I intend to kill him." she said placing a hand on her face.
"Salamander what do we do with this?" Gajeel asked as Natsu seemed to know this creature inside Wendy best.
"What about Ben?" Natsu asked her wondering what this creature had in store for him.
"Easy." Zs'Skayr-Wendy said with a smile "I intend to kill him with his own daughter's hands." she said as she laughed.
Natsu and Gajeel saw her laugh, but what caught their notice was the look in her eyes as they saw pain along with a stray tear.
'Wendy.' Natsu thought as this was horrible, to do this to a child as innocent as Wendy was a crime that would not be forgiven by the guild 'Keep fighting.' he thought knowing she was still inside trying to resist his control.
'Don't worry shrimp we'll save ya and make sure this thing goes down.' Gajeel thought as he was gonna rip out whatever this thing was from in her and make sure it died.
"Where'd he go?" Zs'Skayr-Wendy asked not seeing Zeref in the area.
…
Zeref was in the distance as he was going to watch all of this carefully and critically as his mind had endless thoughts running through it about what he had been seeing.
"You know things will be best if you remain out of sight." Paradox said appearing next to him.
"Hello, Paradox." Zeref said as this was a person he had met on many occasions "Is he the one you have mentioned before?" he asked as Paradox often spoke of a person in the past and wondered if that person was Ben Tennyson.
"He is indeed." Paradox said to him.
"How did he survive?" Zeref asked wondering how Ben survived the Entrapment spell.
"Because he's part of Fairy Tail." Paradox said as that was all that needed to be said.
Zeref laughed at that remark and thought of a certain blonde woman whom he truly believed he loved in the past.
"I shall see you in a moment I need to deliver an angry grandmother." Paradox said as he moved through time.
…
Verdona often let her children and her grandchildren fight their own battles only ever offering her assistance if they called her or truly needed her, but this ectonurite a species she deemed no better than parasites, tormented and attacked her family and now he was possessing Wendy, she was going to make sure this creature died…permanently, it was not coming back again and she would make it regret the day that it looked at her family and bring it to the brightest place she could think of and slowly let him burn.
…
Makarov looked at his three Dragon Slayers in shock at what had happened and what was going to happen "I am giving you one chance, leave Wendy's body and I will let you live." he said clutching his cane tightly.
"You have bigger threats to worry about old man, if you fight me, you'll be wasting your time, I'm the thing that gives Ben Tennyson nightmares, ask Natsu." Zs'Skayr-Wendy said as the Dragon Slayers growled at her all but confirming the truth in her statement "Now go scurry off while I go murder Ben Tennyson." she said walking away all but taunting them.
Makarov clutched his cane in anger knowing full well that anyone in this position was in peril, he knew fighting Wendy would be a terrible idea as even if he managed to purge Zs'Skayr, he'd be free to possess someone else and all the energy they'd waste would make them all the more vulnerable, so he regretfully let him walk away 'Forgive me.' he thought thinking of both Ben and Wendy.
"We need to inform the others and warn Ben if Grimoire Heart is truly coming here then we need to prepare." Makarov said as he was going to inform the other S-class as the exams changed now as this was a war now 'And we have already lost one of our own.' he thought to himself.
"Should I go after Wendy and give Ben backup?" Gajeel asked as his Iron Nightmare form could possibly help with the thing in her 'What else can.' he thought angrily as he remembered Ben talking about this alien 'We need to get it out of Wendy before that thing finds Ben.' he thought as he knew without a shadow of a doubt Ben would not harm Wendy, especially in this state.
Natsu thought of when Zs'Skayr took over Gwen to get to Ben so he'd let himself be possessed, but he knew that thing inside Wendy wouldn't leave and was going to do everything in its power to kill Ben.
Makarov closed his eyes for a moment "No." he said seeing Natsu and Gajeel looking shocked "If we are going to war we need to regroup and gather everyone." he said to them.
"You just said we needed to warn him!" Gajeel said losing his temper.
"I will send someone, but we need to focus on the group as a whole." Makarov said bitterly as he hated not being able to help his children better and the fact they were in so much danger "Now go this is an order from your master, so find and gather everyone, you're Dragon Slayers put those noses to use." he said as they ran in search of everyone 'There is only one person that can help Wendy.' he thought as he ran to the S-class' location.
…
"Do you think we made it in time?" Gray asked Carla as they landed on Tenrou Island.
Carla had a neutral face that screamed unsureness "I am unsure." she said as an image of Wendy crying filled her mind again along with a bloody jacket with the number '10' on it 'Please be safe.' she thought her thoughts were on Ben and Wendy.
Gray sighed 'We're risking a lot.' he thought to himself as Paradox told him about the possible outcomes and the risks involved depending on what they'd do here 'I hate time travel.' he thought as at first he thought it'd be cool, but to see all uncertainties and nothing definite made him think it was worse than actually living life and wandering aimlessly.
…
"How'd you figure it out?" Lucy asked Ben and Rex as she and Cana made it and saw them there.
"There were six teams that were gonna be winners at most and we worked out some things Makarov said you?" Rex asked curiously.
"We thought it had something to do with death." Cana said as it was actually Lucy who made the guess and it turned out to be correct.
"Could've been anything really." Ben said as there were probably multiple things or hints the master used.
"Do you think anyone else will get here?" Cana asked him curiously.
"Not a chance." Rex said to her "Only person in the groups remaining that can find this place is Levy if she uses the hints master left only other way is if the Dragon Slayers track us by our scent." he said as they'd have to know they were here, to begin with.
"You guys didn't see Wendy by chance did you?" Ben asked them as that sense of worry never left him.
"No, she took to the skies with Pantherlily." Cana said to him as Wendy could be anywhere on the island.
…
Hades walked throughout his ship his men trembling at the sight of him "Ultear." he said addressing his second in command despite her not being the strongest as Azuma and Zancrow were a bit insane and not as rational as her, her intellect rivaled his and it helped him make great strides "How long before we arrive?" he asked her curiously.
"Less than an hour Master Hades." Ultear said to him.
"Excellent." Hades said to her simply.
"Master." Ultear said not looking at his face knowing better "How are you after your procedure?" she asked as Hades had a minor surgery and it was to replace his only remaining human eye with that of the creature they had whom escaped last night.
"Wonderful." Hades said happily as Zs'Skayr's eye was simply marvelous "And you added the corrodium to the battery correct?" he asked her as she was not only his second in command but his top scientist, her magic knowledge was second only to his own, he had her add corrodium to the engine that not only fueled the ship but him as well.
"Yes, master." Ultear said to him wondering how high his level of power was now with the additions she made 'And what power does he wield now?' she couldn't help but ask as she felt nauseous being near it for so long and the men she had to assist her were worse off having less magical power than herself.
Hades felt it in his very bones, this eye opened doors to powers he never dared dream of, the one true magic was in his grasp, but he knew there was more and he knew the answers lay not with mana, monsters, or crystals, but with Ben Tennyson.
…
Hex watched the island from a distance, smiling vindictively "All the pieces are in play and all of them will fall and die." he said to himself as the Council was sending most of their advanced forces none of the wizard saints amongst them, Grimore Heart had an army and their own key players, Fairy Tail would not leave and given how the Council acted with them and how Lahar was leading this unit, he knew from the articles he'd create an incident 'Politians.' he thought to himself as they were useful to a point, but still irritating 'And the wild card.' he thought as Zs'Skayr-Wendy was on no one's side as Zs'Skayr was going to kill Ben and Hades for their crimes against him, the Council and Fairy Tail would just be his enemies or rather he'd kill them to sate his own bloodlust 'No matter what though they'll die painfully, I shall finally be free of the nuisance Ben Tennyson.' he thought finding absolute joy in the fact that he'd die from someone he loved.
Author's Note-Ok ladies and gentlemen I have looked at the poll the reviews and so on so far it's pretty even with if Ben should have a harem, so I decided to not do it, I may do a spinoff from a certain point of this story later on, but I have decided not to do it here so you can all relax, now for Mira her names and hints to her alien take overs I picked the more monster like the classics like Bride of Frankenstein and Cleo to Cleopaterra seemed like the best stuff as Mira seems to click to that and training with Ben for so long she should have something, I gave Elfman his four arms form back, but it's sorta like a monster thing I based it to be similar to Kevin's Four arm form in the OG series, now for Wendy I bet none of you were expecting this turn for her, I mean Wendy is now of the board in a new kinda way and there is a third side now in this battle, now for any logic to this, Zs'Skayr is basically a vampire I mean he has used things like science in OG and in Omniverse he used Darkstar's mana circle to bring himself back and has entered Gwen's body before meaning he can possess someone with mana best comparison I can give him is to Darkstar himself as Zs'Skayr has powers that are similar to Darkstar himself feeding on people absorbing them so now loaded with his powers along side Wendy's own powers he's a bigger threat than ever before, and now for the final character…Hades, I wanted to give him an edge with all he has acquired, now with Hades, Zs'Scayr, The Council, and most importantly Fairy Tail, this will be a battle royale people I'm thinking of new possible meetings and combinations of who can meet who if you have an idea PM me or join my P-A-T-R-E-O-N and you can join my D-I-S-C-O-R-D server always active on that, 'The Dragon's Den of Mischief' you can search my profile name or my FF name up, link to my P-A-T-R-E-O-N is on my profile love ya all.