"WHAT!?" Lucy's eyes widened. "C-Cynthia!? Wendy!"
"She's not serious, is she!?" Selene said with a gasp.
"I think she is…" Aira said with a lone tone. "That's what scares me."
"W-Wendy's not actually going to kill her, is she!?" Luke asked, looking over to Lucy and Gray.
"Fairy Tail doesn't kill…" Gray replied, staring intently at the lacrima screen showing the battle.
"…You say that…but look at the situation she's in…" Takeru replied to Gray. "What else is there to do?"
"I know Wendy wouldn't…" Lucy mumbled. "We have to believe in her.."
Waiston frowned slightly, speaking the words no one would dare to say, "If Wendy loses, that puts the entire country of Fiore at risk. That means Cynthia will have to..."
"Believe in Wendy!" Lucy interrupted. "Both Wendy and Cynthia are members of Fairy Tail! There's nothing they can't do...!"
"I believe in her," Selene replied. "Cynthia didn't ask for this, but I'm sure there's a way to save her without killing her..."
Gajeel sat cross legged on the ground, looking up at the lacrima screen with a worried expression. "I know you're not a killer, kid…"
.
.
Wendy and Cynthia faced off against each other, neither saying a word as everyone felt the tension in the air. Wendy took a deep breath, preparing herself for what may happen in this fight, and then dashed towards Cynthia. "Cynthia, I'm not going to allow you to throw your life away like this, understand!?" Cynthia allowed the red flames to surround her body in the shape of a wheel; the only response given was a loud shout of pain, signifying some kind of inner struggle that was failing as Cynthia rolled forward towards Wendy. Wendy placed her arms forward, Cynthia running right into Wendy's hands. "Ngh…!" Cynthia pushed Wendy back a few feet before Wendy gripped Cynthia and threw her into the wall. Cynthia hit the wall, grunting softly. "Agh…" Wendy groaned softly at her burnt hands, shaking them out softly.
Cynthia recovered quickly, unable to respond to Wendy anymore as her power got to her head, completely cutting out the young, innocent girl that Fairy Tail learned to love. The young girl stood up slowly, puffing her cheeks out as a mini tornado of red fire swirled around her mouth. "Omega Fire Dragon's Roar…" Her voice seemed weak, strained, but still monotonous as she fired off the large funnel of red fire towards Wendy.
"Cynthia, look at me!" Wendy crossed her arms as the roar slammed into her, causing an explosion as she flew back, skidding back across the ground on her feet. "We all know this isn't who you really are! You have to find yourself!"
"Your words will no longer pollute her mind," Aiden said to Wendy, a faint scowl over his lips.
"You're the one polluting her mind!" Wendy shouted, turning her head at Aiden. "You're the reason she's suffered!" Wendy puffed her cheeks out, aiming for Aiden. "Roar…!"
"You will not harm Master Aiden!" Cynthia shoulder tackled Wendy, causing Wendy to prematurely release her roar, sending it flying into air, where the ceiling used to be.
"He's not your master!" Wendy replied, pulling an arm back, landing a punch across Cynthia's jawline.
"He is my master! The one I will always serve!" Cynthia replied, returning Wendy's punch with her own, right across the jawline.
"Listen to yourself!" Wendy shouted, throwing a high kick to Cynthia's sternum.
"Listen to YOURSELF!" Cynthia replied, throwing her leg at Wendy's the two clashing, creating a minor shockwave that gave a mini thunderous boom.
"Cynthia, I know you're still in there! You were there just a few minutes ago!" Wendy threw a quick jab at Cynthia's face, but Cynthia caught the jab with her right hand, quickly pulling her knee up, slamming it into Wendy's gut, causing Wendy to take a desperate gasp for air, feeling winded after the attack.
"Her name isn't Cynthia, Little Sky Dragon," Aiden commented from above. "Her name is Fiore's End, isn't that right?"
Cynthia nodded very slowly, her blazing red eyes twitching some at the name and her current condition. "Y-Yes…My name…is F-Fiore's End…"
"Dammit, Cynthia!" Natsu screamed. "Don't listen to that bastard! You're Cynthia of Fairy Tail! Not some crazy asshole's tool to destroy!"
"Fight it, Cynthia!" Chelia shouted.
"It's cute how hard you're all trying," Aiden said with a mocking laugh. "But you should know it's pointless by now. You Fairy Tail wizards just don't know when to quit, do you…?"
"I'm not giving up on Cynthia!" Wendy jumped into the air, spreading her arms out once again. "Not when she needs me the most!" Wendy threw her arms down, unleashing yet another Sky Dragon's Wing Attack on Cynthia.
Cynthia's body and her mind ran on autopilot; the only thing she could hear was Aiden's voice now, commanding her to attack. This part of Cynthia didn't care that she was attacking her best friend; she was doing as she was told, like the tool she was. Cynthia crossed her arms as the Sky Dragon's Wing attack slammed into her, causing a miniature dust cloud. Even though the dust didn't clear, Cynthia jumped through the smoke, landing a devastating kick to Wendy's side, causing the sky dragon to hit the ground. "My name…i-is Fiore's…End…"
Wendy got up as fast she could, holding her side as she closed one eye, panting. "Your name is Cynthia…" Wendy replied, opening her mouth as she started inhaling the air to regain lost magic energy. "I-I'll keep saying that until you say it too…"
"I'm growing tired of your repetitiveness…" Aiden sighed, shaking his head slowly. "You are perhaps the MOST stubborn little girl I've ever met, and that's a lot seeing as how I had to deal with this one for seven year. Fiore's End, I think it's time to end this battle once and for all."
"Yes, Master Aiden…" Cynthia nodded, rushing towards Wendy once again.
"I will set you free…" Wendy thought to herself as Cynthia came in. The two girls entered fierce close combat once again; Wendy's has surrounded by the wind and Cynthia's hands surrounded by red fire so dark is was almost black. Thunderous shockwaves shaking the area every time the two girls' attacks met. "I WILL set you free!"
"STOP TALKING!" Cynthia shouted, actually showing some emotion in her voice, quite annoyed by Wendy repeating the same thing over and over again. However, it was quite obvious that her annoyance for this came from Aiden's annoyance from it, showing that Cynthia didn't even have her own mind anymore. She really was a tool.
"I know you don't mean that!" Wendy shouted in reply, narrowing her eyes as an incoming punch came right for her face. With quick reflexes, the young sky dragon moved her body to the side, avoiding the punch with more difficulty than it looked, aiming a high kick to Cynthia's chest once again. Wendy's kick landed, and Cynthia stumbled back.
"Eruption…" Cynthia placed her hands on the ground, causing a red magic circle to appear under Wendy. This was similar to Luke's lighting circle, only this time fire erupted from the magic circle, shooting Wendy up into the air.
"Agh!" Wendy let out a cry of pain as the eruption sent her in the air. She had no time to recover as Cynthia jumped into the air, aiming a knee as Wendy's spine, causing Wendy's eyes to widen. Cynthia then aimed a harsh axe kick onto Wendy's stomach, slamming the sky dragon into the ground, creating a semi large crater on impact. "Ugh…"
Cynthia landed on the ground, right in front of Wendy. Cynthia grabbed Wendy by the collar of her shirt, giving an emotionless stare into Wendy's eyes. "I must…follow Master Aiden's orders…I must destroy you…"
"C-CYNTHIA! STOP!" Chelia screamed out.
Cynthia raised her hand, and then stopped, looking over to the side, noticing a black, rectangular box had fallen out of Wendy's pocket. Instead of prying Cynthia's hand away, Wendy reached for the box, opening it up immediately; showing the pendant Cynthia gave her just hours before that had the words "Friends Forever" on it. "S-See this…Look at it Cynthia…! Remember!?"
"W-What is that...?" Cynthia's eyes widened slightly as the memory rushed into her head."T-That's…!"
{Flashback}
"Because, I wanted to give you something," Cynthia nodded slowly. "I remember…when we first met…you were so eager to show me around and all…I feel kinda bad for being so reluctant about it before…"
"You don't have to feel bad, Cynthia," Wendy said with a reassuring smile. "I didn't understand it at first, but I still just wanted you to feel comfortable. Now that I understand what you went through, you don't have to feel bad."
Cynthia shook her head slowly, a small smile tugging at her lips. "Heh…yeah…I did feel comfortable around you. I was a little scared at first because you were a stranger, but I could tell you were a really sweet girl, so I trusted myself to trust you, and I can say that was one of the best decisions I've been able to make in my life since I escaped…"
Wendy blushed slightly from Cytnhia's words, her smile growing. "Cynthia…"
"Oh!" Cynthia reached into her back pocket, pulling out a small rectangular shaped box. "I made this for you, for your birthday."
Wendy took the box, opening it up slowly, her eyes widening when she saw what it was. Inside the box was a small pendant with the words "Friends Forever" on it. "Y-You made this…?"
"Mhm…" Cynthia nodded. "Do you like it…?"
Wendy closed the box, and then threw her arms around Cynthia, hugging her tightly. "I love it…! Thank you!"
Cynthia returned the tight hug, embracing Wendy in her arms. "You're welcome…" Cynthia closed her eyes, enjoying the hug for as long as it lasted. After a few minutes, Cynthia opened her eyes, looking up at the nearest clock. "Oh boy!" Cynthia pulled away from the hug. "We have to get going!"
{End Flashback}
Cynthia dropped Wendy, holding her head as she felt a warm feeling in her chest taking a few steps back. "W-Wendy…?"
"What the…? Fiore's End, what are you doing!? Destroy her!" Aiden shouted.
"Cynthia, don't listen to him! Listen to you!" Wendy shouted, standing up, holding her arm. "Remember your time with Fairy Tail…!"
"Don't listen to that brat, Fiore's End! She's trying to corrupt your mind! I gave you an ORDER AND YOU WILL FOLLOW IT!" Aiden shouted in a demanding tone.
"F-Fairy Tail…F-Fiore's End…" Cynthia clenched her eye shut, the red flames around her body flaring uncontrollably as Cynthia entered an inner struggle.
{Flashback}
"Where do you want your guild mark?" Makarov asked.
"U-Uh…uhm…!" Cynthia looked around, looking at where all the other members had their Fairy Tail guild mark. "I…uh…oh!" Cynthia pointed to her shoulder, grinning. "Right here, sir!"
Makarov nodded, pulling out a stamp, pressing the Fairy Tail symbol on Cynthia's shoulder. "You are now an official member of Fairy Tail," The old man said with a smile. "And you can call me Master from now on.
"YAY!" Wendy grinned, throwing her arms around Cynthia for a hug. "You're a member of Fairy Tail now! Now we can hang out more!"
"Y-Yeah!" Cynthia grinned, throwing her arms around Wendy.
"Welcome to Fairy Tail!" Mirajane said with a sweet smile.
{End flashback}
"I...I…" Cynthia let out a scream of agony; the internal struggle was literally causing the young girl pain. She constantly walked around the room in a few short circles, groaning loudly as she attempted to fight herself.
{Flash back}
Cynthia's eyes widened a bit more as she moved her head to look up at Aiden, who was slowly pacing back and forth in the room, thinking of what he could do next that required Cynthia's power. "Yes, you. All because your friends cannot accept the fact that you're nothing more than a tool to be used, and you are in no way an individual of any sort." Cynthia flinched from the words as if they actually attacked her, starting to believe what was said was true.
{End flashback}
"W-Who am I?" Cynthia ask aloud as the memories of everything she's experienced in her life were flooding into Cynthia's head, all good and bad; her time in Fairy Tail, from just the few hours of her being nothing but a tool to be used. The flames around her body rose to the ceiling as everything flooded into her head. "I….I…" Cynthia stumbled around as she attempted to define what she was. "I…I…I am…" Cynthia snapped her eyes open, giving off a loud scream. "A FAIRY TAIL WIZARD!" The ground beneath her feet shattered as her red flames brightened, rising high into the sky, forming the Fairy Tail guild symbol.
"CYNTHIA…!" Wendy's face immediately lit up with a smile at Cynthia's words, walking slowly towards the tower of flame Cynthia created.
"W-WHAT!? THIS IS IMPOSSBILE…!" Aiden shouted in disbelief, reaching for something under his desk while covering his eyes from the bright flames.
The flames eventually formed into the shape of a dragon, which gave off an earth shaking roar. Cynthia's arms, legs, and her forehead were covered with dragon-like scales as she entered Dragon Force. The flames died down, and reentered her body, causing the girl to immediately return to normal as she fell forward. "Uh…"
"I got you…" Wendy caught Cynthia in her arms before she could fall, smiling widely.
"W-Wendy…" Cynthia opened her eyes slowly, revealing their normal sky blue color. She spoke with a with a weak smile.
"She did it…" Natsu's face lit up with a wide grin.
.
.
"Looks like that Sky Dragon is a lot stronger than I thought…" Luke said with a faint grin.
"I told you to believe in her," Lucy replied, waving a finger with the goofiest grin on her face.
"Looks like I was wrong…" Takeru hid the faint smile approaching his lips.
"I knew she could do it..." Erza said with a gentle smile.
.
.
"I told you I'd set you free…" Wendy said softly as she held Cynthia in her arms.
"I didn't think I'd…I'd become my own person…" Cynthia pulled away from the hug so she could face Wendy. "Wendy…I owe you…and I owe everyone who came here so much…" The joyous moment was cut short by a beam piercing into Cynthia's chest; around the area where her heart was, causing her eyes to go wide from shock, and she fell onto the ground on her back, Wendy holding her in her arms.
"CYNTHIA!" Wendy's jaw dropped at the sudden move. The beam retracted itself from Cynthia's chest, and went over to Aiden, who was holding some sort of laser beam in his hands; the tip of the beam revealing a spherical lacrima now floating in Aiden's hands.
"W-What is that!?" Natsu shouted.
"The lacrima that I created…it's certainly grown much more powerful…" Aiden replied with a smirk. Cynthia gave a weak cough, closing one eye as she felt her life slowly slipping away from her body after the lacrima in her body was forcibly removed. "JUST in case something like this happened, I was prepared."
Everyone ignored Aiden for the time being as their focus went to Cynthia. "C-CYNTHIA…!" Wendy looked down at Cynthia, feeling the fire dragon slayer's body started to grow cold. "H-Hold on…!" Wendy placed her hands over Cynthia's body, attempting to heal the girl before the worst could happen.
Cynthia coughed, closing one eye as she shook her head slowly. "D-Don't…waste your energy…" Cynthia replied.
"N-NO! Stop talking! I'll heal you, don't worry!" Wendy spoke fast, shaking her head as tears started to form in her eyes. "C-Chelia…Help me…!" "
"LET US OUT DAMN YOU!" Natsu continued throwing wild punches at the force field around him along with Chelia, but the two together were just unable to shatter the powerful barrier separating them from Wendy and Cynthia.
"Wendy…" Cynthia looked up at Wendy, her breathing slowing down.
"D-Don't talk, Cynthia…we can get you out of here safely…I swear…!" Wendy replied, fighting back the tears.
"I…I wanted to thank Fairy Tail…for…for showing me true kindness…" Cynthia started, a tear welling up in her eye, but she fought it back. "I also wanted to thank White Eclipse…for proving my point earlier…"
"S-Stop talking like that…! I-I mean it!" Wendy said; her voice starting to crack as tears rolled down her cheeks.
"H-Hey…don't cry…" Cynthia said weakly. "Tears don't look good on you…and you shouldn't cry on your birthday…"
"C-Cynthia…D-Don't leave me…" Wendy sniffled, ignoring Cynthia's words as the tears continued rolling down her cheeks, grabbing a hold of Cynthia's left hand.
"M-Mind if I ask…what you wished for…?" Cynthia gave a soft cough.
Wendy blinked a few times, and then realized that Cynthia was talking about. The wish she made on her birthday cake. "I…I wished for you…t-to be happy...B-But my wish…it didn't come true…"
"That…That's not true…" Cynthia shook her head slowly. "I…I was happy…that moment…I fell into your arms…that's when I learned what it meant to live…" Cynthia's eyes started to close slowly, but she fought to keep them open for as long as she could. Wendy's eyes widened at Cynthia's word; she was speechless. Wendy's jaw hung open as the tears started to fall faster. Cynthia raised her right hand into the air, pointing out her index finger and her thumb. As she did that, a radiant blue flame appeared on her left hand, the one Wendy was holding. "These…are the flames that were inside me…when I was in Fairy Tail…the flames of friendship…Fairy Tail…will always…be my home…and you will always be my best friend, Wendy..." Cynthia's eyes closed slowly, and her hand hit the ground, her body going limp.
"C-CYNTHIAAAA!" Wendy's let out a scream as she started wailing, the tears flowing down her cheeks nonstop. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Natsu and Chelia stopped moving, their body's freezing as they watched Cynthia die right in front of them. "S-She…" Chelia started, unable to finish as she choked back the words. While this was happening, Aiden interested the Omega Fire Dragon lacrima into his own body, grinning from the intense power boost he felt from it.
"S-She's…" Aira's eyes widened.
"Did he really just…" Reve was taken aback.
Laxus actually gasped from the event that just took place, his eyes widening as he took a step back. "W-WHAT...!?"
"Tell me, Wendy Marvell…" Aiden started as red flames surrounded his body. "How does it feel to know YOU are the reason Cynthia no longer walks this planet. Wendy's eyes widened even more, placing her face into Cynthia's stomach as she wailed even louder.
"WENDY, DON'T LISTEN TO HIM!" Natsu roared, trying harder than before to shatter the force field.
"It's true, Dragneel," Aiden replied. "Had Wendy and Cynthia not formed as strong a bond as they did, Cynthia wouldn't have reacted as strongly as she did to Wendy's torture. That's the reason that girl is now dead; friendship."
"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Natsu reared his fist back, throwing a raged filled punch at the force field, actually shattering it with his bare hands. Natsu then jumped forward, flames and lightning surrounding his body as he used every ounce of magical energy he had and lunged forward with a Lightning Flame Dragon's Sword Horn. Chelia followed behind Natsu as black wind surrounded her hands.
"Oh, excellent practice…" As Natsu came in, Aiden shifted his upper body to the side, allowing Natsu to pass him. Before Natsu could go too far, Aiden grabbed Natsu's scarf, pulling him back and slammed a red fire knee into Natsu's chin. Natsu fell back onto the ground, his eyes pure white from KO.
"Natsu!" Chelia looked down at Natsu, and then glared at Aiden, rushing towards him.
"Ah…Sky God Slayer…" Aiden allowed Chelia to close in, analyzing her body as he looked for vital points. He knew Chelia had the ability to heal herself, so he focused his eyes on one particular spot of her body, aiming for a single hit knock out. Aiden pulled his fist back, avoiding Chelia's swipe, and then aimed his fist at Chelia's chest. The sky slayer's eyes widened before rolling to the back of her head, hitting the ground on her back as she fell unconscious. "Excellent. With this power, I'll take the role of Fiore's End myself! This is the true power of the Omega Fire Dragon! HAHAHA!"
"…This isn't good…" Sidney said; his tone actually somewhat worried. Gildarts and Jura were still attempting to break through the force field, but they were unable to. Sidney tried to use his ghostly magic to phase through the shield, but that too failed.
Wendy continued to wail into Cynthia's lifeless body, feeling as though her heart had been ripped from her body. She trembled uncontrollably. She then looked down, realizing that Cynthia left the blue flame in her hands. "Cynthia…" Wendy sniffled softly before thinking to herself. "You weren't able to enjoy life to the fullest…you always had that darkness following you…Fairy Tail was the light to your darkness, and even then…he followed you there…I won't let that darkness follow you into death…I swear it…" Wendy opened her mouth, starting to inhale the blue flame Cynthia left behind.
"Hm…?" Aiden looked over at Wendy as she consumed the blue flame. "What's this…?"
'"I will let you rest in peace…" Wendy finished consuming the blue flame, and turned around to face Aiden, a blue dragon of flames appearing behind Wendy as scales formed along her body; taking the shape of crystal-like wings tinted blue from Cynthia's power. Her hair and eyes even changed color to a vibrate pink shade. This was Wendy's dragon force.
"Oh? You're using that faulty power Cynthia created called friendship?" Aiden chuckled lightly. "That's cute…but I'll have you know that the power I have is Cynthia's REAL power."
Wendy shook her head slowly, glaring up at Aiden. "Cynthia's real power…is these flames…You're the darkness that pushed her to death…I'll let her rest in peace…"
"Oh? Well, if you feel so confident about that, how about we finish things right here? Let's see which of these flames are stronger then…" Aiden smirked with a cool expression as the two stood off against each other. The fate of Fiore in the balance.