A large explosion covered the entire top of the tower; Wendy placed her hand on the ground as she slid across the metallic floor, looking towards Aiden as blue fire winds surrounded her. Wendy took a deep breath, immediately throwing her head forward, unleashing radiant blue vortex of wind and fire towards Aiden. "Sky Dragon's Roar!"
"Hmph!" Aiden puffed his cheeks out as a vortex of red fire surrounded his mouth. "Roar…" Aiden then threw his head forward, unleashing a funnel of red fire towards Wendy's roar. "Of the Omega Fire Dragon!" The two roars clashed in the center of the room, immediately causing a whirlwind to pick up before the two roars exploded, creating a think gray smoke cloud. When the smoke cleared, Aiden was smirking slightly, examining his body as the red flames flared around him. "Hm, I have to admit, this magic is quite impressive. I really outdid myself when creating this; it's a shame Cynthia was unable to handle a simple task such as destroying a few wizards…" Aiden sighed before looking over to the unconscious Natsu and Chelia.
"Cynthia wasn't your tool!" Wendy replied, clenching her fist as she looked over at Cynthia's dead body. "She was a Fairy Tail Wizard! She said so herself!" Wendy raised her arms over her head and spread them apart, unleashing sharp whirlwinds of blue winds coated with radiant blue fire. "Sky Dragon's Wing Slash!"
"Keh, I had this all planned from this start," Aiden replied, smirking devilishly as Wendy's attack came in. "Nothing will stop me from destroying Fiore, and then rebuilding it under MY control!" Aiden ran forward, swiftly dodging all of Wendy's Dragon Force boosted Wing Slashes, much to the girl's surprise, and threw his leg forward, landing a sharp kick to Wendy's side. Wendy let out a yelp of pain as the kick connected, sending her over to the side, but she recovered her side, wincing slightly as she held her side. "You may as well give up now, Marvel!" Aiden replied, rushing to the girl with a barrage of skillfully aimed punches and kicks.
"Never!" Wendy replied, ignoring the pain ringing in her body from her previous battles as she engaged in close combat with the mad scientist who became the Omega Fire Dragon. Wendy managed to dodge most of Aiden's attacks, blocking the rest as others slipped through, causing her to let out a soft grunt. She was determined to finish what Cynthia was unable to. Upon dodging a punch, Wendy puffed her cheeks out and unleashed a Sky Dragon's Roar directly on Aiden, the attack catching him off guard as he took the hit directly to the chest, now propelling towards the empty air space.
"Annoying little!" Aiden twisted his body in midair, pointing himself towards Wendy as red flames surrounded his body. "Omega Fire Dragon's Sword Horn!" Aiden smirked as he dove head first towards the girl. Wendy saw such a thing coming once the flames covered Aiden's body, so she quickly jumped to the side, allowing the male to hit the ground, creating a dust cloud. But before the dust cleared, Aiden lunged from the smoke, landing a heavy punch on the young girl, sending her hurtling into the nearest wall.
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"And here I thought I was the only copycat…" Luke said while watching Wendy and Aiden do battle.
"Cynthia learned some of her moves by watching Natsu…and Aiden learned what he knows by watching Cynthia…" Lucy replied, frowning slightly.
"We have to go help her!" Aira shouted.
"Could we even make it time...?" Lyon asked the right question. Even fi some of them were able bodied fighters...
"I don't think so..." Yukino frowned.
"Like we can even muster the energy to do so…" Luke replied, pointing at the scar on his stomach. "I can't even move…"
"Hell…that little girl did more damage to me than I thought…" Cygnus replied, sitting cross legged on the ground. "There's gotta be something we can do to help her, right?"
"Telling by our condition, all we can really do is hope for the best…" Selene stated. Though she did have magic energy, her body was in no condition for any serious movement.
"I can smell Sidney…" Takeru said.
"So it wasn't just me…" Waiston replied to Takeru.
"Your ace?" Gray asked looking over at the White Eclipse mages. "What's he doing here?!"
"I don't know," Luke replied. "But, something must be wrong if he isn't in that room fucking up that crazy bastard…"
"I smell Gildarts too…" Waiston said.
"Gildarts?!" Lucy gasped. "He's here…?! But how…he left…!?"
"Does that really matter?" Luke interrupted. "Something must be in the way if neither of them is in that room right now…"
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Those at Fairy Tail could only watch the battle between Aiden and Wendy. Though Makarov was still livid on the inside and out, he had to have faith that Wendy would be able to finish this mess. Makarov raised his finger into the air, pointing his index finger and thumb out. There was nothing he could say, so he let his actions speak for him. The other members in Fairy Tail noticed the famous hand sign, and followed suit with their master, chanting "GO WENDY!"
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"Master, do you see what's happening!?" Kuro asked, pointing to the large lacrima screen playing over Fiore.
"Yes, I do…" Calium replied. "I'm worried about that child," Calium continued. "She has the drive and power to fight…but I don't think her power can compare to that of which the scientist has…"
"That's crazy!" Kuro said with widened eyes. "She's gotta be able to do it!"
"She is a strong child," Taya nodded slowly, thinking back to the mission in the forest.
"That may be true…" Calium started slowly. "But there is always someone stronger…and I pray that this isn't the situation where that's true…"
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"I hate standing around and not doing anything about this!" Gildarts shouted in frustration, still attempting to get through the powerful force field blocking the three mages from entering the laboratory where the battle was taking place.
"I agree, Gidlarts-dono," Jura replied with a sigh. "If only we could get passed this force field, we would be able to help Wendy-dono in her battle…"
"She has no chance of winning," Sidney said, his tone completely serious.
"What are you saying!?" Gildarts asked; looking over at Sidney with an angered looked.
"You heard me, Clive," Sidney replied, looking Gildarts right in the eyes with a serious facial expression. "She can try, but she won't win. That scientist is stronger than her in every way."
"Sidney-dono," Jura started calmly. "I think you should have faith in Wendy-dono; she is a strong girl."
"You're asking me to have false faith?" Sidney simply shrugged, turning his head to the lacrima screen to watch the battle more intently than he was letting on. "Once that scientist wins, we do whatever it takes to kill him."
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Wendy shook her head slowly, shaking off the most recent impact she took, groaning softly. "Ugh…" When she looked up, she saw Aiden coming in with a flaming fist; reacting by instinct, Wendy placed her arms in front of her in an X formation to soften the blow of the hit. Though the blow was slightly softened, she still slid back across the metallic floor a few feet. Before she could react to anything else, Aiden grasped her left arm tightly, smirking.
"Heh…" Aiden allowed the red flames around his body to flare dangerously around the hand holding Wendy's arm, thus burning the girl's arm severely in the process. Wendy let out a sharp scream of pain as the fire started to easily incinerate the material on her sleeve.
"S-STOP!" Wendy cried out, her eyes closed as she tried tugging her arm away from Aiden's grasps, but it was to no avail. Aiden laughed for a few seconds before throwing Wendy to the side, letting the girl fall on her face. Wendy's arm let off a thin cloud of steam for a few seconds before the girl slowly stood up, her eyes widening at her arm. It was indeed severely burned, and it hurt her just trying to move it. "M-My arm…!"
"Oh? Did I did do that?" Aiden smirked at the sight of Wendy's arm, and even more at her reaction. He then swiped his hand a few times in the air, creating the Japanese symbol for fire in front of him. "Flame Burst…" the symbol then launched multiple copies of it and eventually moved forward on its own towards Wendy.
"No…!" Wendy did all she could really do with barely having use of one arm. She frantically ran off to the side as the symbols hit the areas behind her, causing large fiery explosions. At the last one, she rolled off to the side, wincing noticeably from her burnt arm and puffed her cheeks out, unleashing yet another Dragon Force boosted Sky Dragon's Roar towards Aiden.
"Tch…" Aiden was a little upset his attack failed to make contact, but he simply told himself that he had this entire battle to end the stubborn Sky Dragon Slayer, so a grin appeared on his face as he allowed flames to cover his body once more, taking the shape of a wheel as he rolled forward towards Wendy. "Flame Wheel!"
Wendy was very annoyed that Aiden was just using Cynthia's power without any kind of remorse, but she couldn't think about that now as Aiden was rolling towards her at a speed that made it nearly impossible for her to dodge in her current position. Without thinking, she placed both of her arms up, holding them out as Aiden collided with them. Wendy yelped out, not from the impact, but from the pain shooting through her burnt arm. She knew she was going to have a difficult time in this battle with a nearly useless arm, but she had to keep trying. She gritted her teeth, planting her feet firmly into the broken steel floor as she held her ground firmly, eventually pushing Aiden back a few yards. "Ugh…" Wendy fell to her knees, panting heavily. "My arm…this isn't good…"
Aiden stood straight, hiding any signs of fatigue from Wendy, just smirking over at her, despite the variously sized bruise marks and cuts on his body. "What's wrong, Sky Dragon Slayer? Is the power of the Omega Fire Dragon too much for you?" He asked with a mocking tone, not even wasting his breath for a laugh.
"YOU'RE NOT THE OMEGA FIRE DRAGON!" Wendy stood up quickly, lunging towards Aiden in a blind rage. "YOU TOOK CYNTHIA'S MAGIC! YOU TOOK HER AWAY FROM ME! I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!" The wind found itself wrapping around Wendy's fist along with radiant blue fire from the flames of friendship Wendy consumed as Wendy threw multiple punches towards Aiden using both her arms, ignoring the pain in the burnt one. Aiden only laughed at Wendy's yelling as he swayed his body from left to right, occasionally taking a step back, completely avoiding every punch Wendy threw at him. At an incoming punch, Aiden grabbed Wendy's arm once again, and to his surprise, it was the one he brunt relentless not too long ago. This caused a smirk to appear on his face as flames appeared on his hands once again, sending vicious red flames to engulf Wendy's arm. "Got you…!" While Aiden was so focused on burning Wendy, Wendy slammed her fist into Aiden's gut, causing his eyes to widen.
"W-What…!?" Aiden grunted as he kept a tight grip on Wendy's arm, but in return, Wendy pushed her fist into Aiden's stomach, not aiming to pierce through, but the option was certainly there and she wasn't afraid to take it. Eventually, Aiden had enough and threw Wendy harshly to the ground, taking a few steps back as he looked at the mark on his stomach, growling slightly at the downed Wendy.
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"Wendy!" Erza stood up immediately, but fell back over, cursing under her breath.
"There's no way we're gonna make it up there in time even if we didn't get our asses handed to us…" Zalen groaned. "It's too far up…"
"If she doesn't win…" Reve started.
"She's going to win…" Mirajane interrupted Reve. "She's a Fairy Tail Wizard…she can win…!"
"As a man, I have to agree with my older sister!" Elfman nodded.
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Aiden glanced at his arms and the flames surrounding them, frowning just slightly. "Hn…this magic isn't as strong as I thought it would be…"
"T-That's because…" Wendy started, her body slowly stirring as she lifted her head up, placing her good arm on the floor as she tried to push herself up. "It's not the magic that makes one strong…it's the mage…" Wendy stood up slowly, taking heavy pants as she closed one eye shut, hunching over.
"What the…?" Aiden let out a low growl of annoyance as Wendy stood up. "How are you still standing?!"
Wendy completely ignored Aiden's question as she went on. "Cynthia…she could make the most of that magic because it was a part of her…you just took it from her…it may be strong…but it's stronger when it was her...because her magic was her emotions…you don't have any of those…"
"That's complete and utter bullshit!" Aiden screamed back, very irritated that Wendy had the audacity to talk to him like that. "I created this magic, and it should be strong with me! She doesn't matter!"
Wendy stayed silent for a few moments before it finally hit her, why Aiden treated Cynthia the way he did, why he kept her cooped up like this. "I…I finally get it…"
"Get what!?" Aiden snarled.
"You were afraid of Cynthia…" Wendy said with a slight smirk. "That's why…you knew she would reach the point where she had enough, and reach the point where she would attack you. You say you made her unable to do so because it was the smart thing to do…but in reality, you were afraid…you were afraid that one day she would gain control over herself…and that's exactly what she did not too long ago…"
"NONSENSE!" Aiden pounded his fist together angrily, the flames on his body intensifying. "I FEAR NO ONE! And look at yourself! Do you really think you can continue this battle! You can't even use that arm now, can you?" Aiden said, pointing to Wendy's severely burnt arm.
"It doesn't matter how many arms I have…" Wendy said, opening her mouth to inhale the air around the two once more, restoring her magical power slowly. "I made her a promise…as a Fairy Tail wizard…and as her best friend…I will let her rest in peace…AND I WON'T GO BACK ON THAT PROMISE!" Wendy puffed her cheeks out, snapping her head forward as she released a powerful Dragon Force boosted Sky Dragon's Roar towards Aiden.
"Stubborn…!" Aiden crossed his arms; the Sky Dragon's roar slamming into him and pushing him back. When Wendy stopped breathing, Aiden decided it was time to end this battle. The flames around his body flared intensely as his sleeves started to incinerate; his arms starting to scaly along with the sides of his face. Wendy's eyes widened as she just remembered second generation Dragon Slayers had the ability to use Dragon Force at will. At Wendy's expression, Aiden could tell that Wendy knew what was about to happen. "Oh, you looked surprised…" Aiden took a step forward, and in a flash appeared behind Wendy, not back to back with her. "I think it's time for this to end, don't you…?" He said in a hushed whisper before grabbing Wendy by the back of her neck and threw her into the air. With his increased speed, Aiden was able to meet Wendy in the air, his fist raised above his head as he slammed them into her back; Wendy let out a loud shriek of pain as she hit the metal floor face first, but she had no time to recover as Aiden picked her up by her hair, hurling her over to the other side of the room, running alongside her body as he started to move like a blur; all that could be seen was Wendy's body knocked around like a rag doll.
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"Dragon Force…!" Lucy gasped.
"Shit, that's really not good…" Gray didn't care if he could barely walk, he was damn sure gonna try.
"Gray, what are you doing!?" Aira asked.
"Wendy's in serious trouble and no one's able to help her! I don't care if my body ain't up for a serious fight; I have to do something now!"
"R-Right…!" Lucy nodded, standing up slowly with most of the pain in her former injuries. "We have to help Wendy…!"
"You two are idiots…" Takeru responded, sighing at Lucy and Gray.
"What was that?!" Gray asked in a threatening tone, daring Takeru to repeat himself.
"I didn't stutter," Takeru replied, unfazed by Gray's threat. "Even if we WERE in condition to fight, what makes you think we would get there fast enough? We're still on the first floor of this damn tower, and they're all the way to the top.
"If Cynthia wasn't forced to shoot down the ship we would've had a chance…" Luke replied.
"We can't just sit here though!" Aira cried out. "Wendy's in danger…she…she might not make it out of this…!"
"She's a Fairy Tail wizard…" Gray replied. "She can do it…"
"We have to believe in her…" Lucy nodded slowly.
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Wendy let out consistent cries of pain every time Aiden landed a powerful hit. She was unable to retaliate due to the fact she was unable to recover in time. Wendy landed on the ground on her feet for once, thinking she had a chance to start her counter attack…but she was dead wrong. Aiden appeared from behind her, his leg engulfed in flames; the scientist swung his leg up, smashing it into Wendy's back, sending her into the air. Though damaged, Wendy finally used this time to turn around, now in an ample position for a counter attack. She threw her good arm out, preparing herself for a Sky Dragon's Wing Slash. "Sky Dragon's-"
"Nope!" Aiden snapped his fingers, causing multiple red magic circles to appear around Wendy's body. Before the girl could even let out the sharpest of gasps, the flames shot out from the circles and exploded on her on impact. Wendy fell out air, a trail of smoke following her; she hit the ground on her back, groaning loudly.
"U-Ugh…" Wendy whimpered from the pain shooting throughout her body. She wasn't going to make such a speedy recovery this time around, so all she could do was just lie on the floor until she could get up. Aiden wasn't planning on giving her that time however. Aiden pointed his hand out as a fireball started to form, slowly growing in size.
"Well, this was fun, Sky Dragon…but I do believe I have a country to destroy at take over…" Aiden nodded slowly, aiming the fire ball at Wendy.
"MAX SPEED!"
"What…?" Aiden turned his head at the sound of the voice; a mistake for him as Happy flew by, slamming right into Aiden's face, causing him to release the fireball prematurely, sending it just to Wendy's left, and causing an explosion. This explosion occurred near Cynthia's body, and a hole in the floor appeared, allowing the body to fall through into the depths of the tower once more.
"Wendy!" Carla flew in, grabbing Wendy and lifting her into the sky. "W-WHAT HAPPENED?!" Carla glanced around at the KO'ed Chelia and Natsu, and the dead body of Cynthia falling into the floor.
"C-Carla…" Wendy let out a soft sigh of relief, wincing from the stinging pain of her burnt arm.
"LILY!" Happy shouted.
"Lily?" Aiden looked up, just in time for him as Patherlily came in with his enlarged sword, just barely managing to grab it as Lily swung. "Oh…Exceeds…I see…" Aiden quickly turned the tables on Patherlily by unleashing a point-blank Omega Fire Dragon's roar on the fighting Exceed, blowing him back into a wall into his normal, cute state.
"Lily!" Happy gasped, lifting up the KO'ed Natsu from the ground.
"Oh, what do you think you're doing?" Aiden snapped his fingers, causing multiple red magic circles to appear around Happy. Before the Exceed could escape, the fire exploded on him, causing both him and Natsu to drop to the ground, heavily injured.
"N-Natsu-san…! Happy!" Wendy's eyes widened. She then looked over her shoulder towards Carla, who nodded.
"Right…" Carla started to fly around the room in a clockwise motion as fast as she could, allowing Wendy to recover enough energy to unleash a powerful Sky Dragon's Roar towards Aiden.
"You just don't learn do you!?" Aiden slid to the side, just barely avoiding the roar, allowing the explosion it caused to cover his person. A few seconds later, a large fire ball shot out from the smoke cloud towards the dragon slayer and the exceed.
"Wendy look out!" Carla dropped Wendy, and that's when everything went in slow motion. Wendy's eyes widened as the fire ball exploded on Carla, dropping her beloved exceed down the ground, covered in severe burn marks. Wendy landed on the ground on her feet, but not before the tears started welling up again. Just how many people had to get hurt to save her!?
"C-CARLA!" Wendy ran over to Carla. Carla was still breathing, though it was light. The same could be said for every other body in the room excluding Cynthia's. "W-Why…!?"
"Because you're not strong enough to protect them," Aiden replied bluntly, puffing his cheeks out as he took a slow, long inhale, gathering a massive vortex of fire in his mouth.
"S-SHUT UP!" Wendy rushed forward without even thinking.
"It was fun, girly…" Aiden threw his head forward, unleashing the massive funnel of fire in Wendy's direction. Wendy's eyes widened as the attack neared her, and it exploded on contact, shaking the entire tower, creating a massive smoke cloud. When the smoke cleared, Wendy was on the ground, not moving an inch.
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"W-WENDY!" Lucy gasped, her eyes widening in horror.
"Shit…that's REALLY not good…" Luke said with a nervous voice.
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"My point exactly…" Sidney said with a nonchalant tone.
"Wendy, get up!" Gildarts screamed, trying his absolute best and more to shatter the force field, but no matter what, it wasn't leaving.
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Wendy's mind wandered the darkness as she started to fade in and out. She could feel the tears streaming down her cheeks at her pathetic effort to avenge her friend. "I'm sorry…Cynthia…I wasn't strong enough…" Wendy laid on the ground, slowly accepting that she had reached her limit. She could her a heartbeat...was it her own? It was so faint...
"Wendy...I believe in you..."
"It seems I was right after all," Aiden said with a smirk. "This is Cynthia's real power…though, I'm somewhat disappointed…is that REALLY all the "Flames of Friendship" had to offer? That's quite pathetic…"
" 'Fraid not…" Natsu said weakly.
"What…? You're awake…?" Aiden looked over at Natsu with an amused looked. "Interesting."
"Wendy…!" Natsu couldn't move his body, but he projected his voice as powerfully as he could, hoping he could get through to Wendy. "What are you doing!? Don't just lie there! Show him the real power of friendship…! Show him that bond you have with Cynthia!"
Aiden couldn't help but laugh at Natsu's little speech, shaking his head slowly. "Cute, Salamander, but I highly doubt…" Aiden would've continued, but he saw Wendy slowly standing up.
"…I made a promise…" Wendy mumbled under her breath as she stood up once again, hearing Natsu's words loud and clear. "AND I WON'T BREAK IT!" Wendy let out a loud battle cry, causing the wing and radiant blue fire around her person to rise into the air, well above the tower. Some of the ground underneath the dragon slater shattered and rose into the sky as she yelled.
"W-What the hell is that!?" Aiden said with a shaky voice.
"That's the real power of friendship!" Natsu said with a smirk.
"Sky Dragon's Roar!" Wendy threw her head forward, unleashing a massive blue fire and wind hurricane towards Aiden.
"You just don't learn do you!?" Aiden reared his head back, throwing it forward as he unleashed an Omega Fire Dragon's Roar; the two roars clashed for a split second before Wendy's overpowered Aiden's, the roar slamming back into him as he flew back. Aiden had no time to recover as Wendy came in with a harsh punch across Aiden's jawline, throwing him back even farther, but the male managed to flip and catch himself in the air. "THAT'S ENOUGH!" Aiden covered himself in red flames, launching himself towards Wendy.
"THIS IS FOR CYNTHIA!" The wind surrounded Wendy's body as she charged headfirst towards Aiden, the two colliding in the middle, causing a large tornado of fire and wind to spiral into the sky, shaking the entire area. The two remained in a deadlock until Wendy let out yet another loud scream, this one as loud as a dragon's. The image of Cynthia beside her flashed in her mind, causing her power to skyrocket, overtaking the spiraling tornado as she suddenly appeared behind Aiden, as if she went right through him. All remained silent for a moment as neither battler move…they just stood there…until one fell over…Aiden.
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"SHE DID IT!" Lucy jumped for joy, ignoring the pain in her injuries.
"Holy…shit…" Luke blinked a few times, completely taken aback by Wendy's strength.
"I can't say I saw that coming…" Waiston let out a silly laugh.
"Wow…she's strong…" Aira stared in amazement.
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"Well I'll be damned…" Reve said with a slightly surprised tone.
"I honestly didn't think she had it in her…" Zalen nodded slowly.
"She's part of Fairy Tail, of course she had it in her," Erza nodded slowly, feeling extremely proud of Wendy.
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"I can hear it…the sounds of victory…" Cobra nodded slowly. "Back to my cell it is…"
"Erik..." Kinana frowned. They just reunited!
"...Unfortunately, I failed my mission." Cobra said, already walking off. As much as it pained him to separate from her, knowing she was safe was more than enough for him. "So my offer will be taken back."
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"She did it…" Cana grinned, taking the last can from Jack's pack and chugged it down. "I knew she could do it!"
"Well…*hic* I'll be damned…!" Jack nodded, lying on his back from the alcohol he consumed.
"Amazing…" Warren said with his jaw hanging.
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"She did it!" Fairy Tail went into an uproar, their cheers filling the entirety of what remained of Magnolia Town.
"Did you ever have a doubt?" Makarov said with a grin.
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"You were saying?" Gildarts looked over at Sidney with a smirk, the force field in front of them finally vanishing.
"…" Sidney just nodded at Gildarts, accepting the fact that Gildarts was right after all.
"Look," Jura pointed towards the vanishing force field.
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"…Did that little girl just…" Zain stood in shock.
"Holy hell…" Michio dropped his waffle, looking up at the screen.
"That was amazing!" Nami shouted gleefully. "She's strong alright!"
"Looks like I stand corrected…" Calium mumbled under his breath.
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"I-Incredible…" Doranbolt stood in complete shock, much more than the others had.
"I wasn't aware she had that much power within her…" Aloy mumbled to himself.
"...Well..." Kemuri was mostly silent about the matter. It wasn't the outcome he expected. Nobody expected Wendy to pull off such a victory, but she did. "Well, we sure have some cleanup to do. What are we all standing around here? There's a perp to go catch!"
"Right..." Doranbolt nodded. "Looks like I'll be busy..."
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Wendy panted heavily, the scales on her body fading away along with the blue fire. "I did it…Cynthia…" Wendy threw her hand up, giving the Fairy Tail symbol, lasting for a good few seconds before she finally passed out.
"Wendy…I'm so proud…and happy…I can call you…my best friend…"
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Wendy's eyes opened slowly, her vision blurry as she looked around. She could tell she was in an infirmary bed, but for how long? She tried moving both her arms, and she was able to, but she winced noticeably. "O-Ow…"
"You're awake…!" Lucy grinned, her body covered in bandages.
"L-Lucy-san…?" Wendy lifted her head up slowly. "W-What happened…?"
"You've been out for five days…" Lucy nodded slowly. "We're all still recovering from it too. Thanks to Aira and Chelia, everyone's doing great!"
"That's great…!" Wendy nodded, and then looked down, realizing this situation was almost perfect. "Oh…" Wendy took a heavy sigh before realizing she had something around her neck. "Huh…?"
"What's that?" Lucy asked, tilting her head slowly.
"I…" Wendy brought the "Friends Forever" necklace into her hands, gasping slowly as the tears started to form. "W-What happened to the body…?"
"We don't know…" Lucy frowned slowly.
"O-Oh…" Wendy looked away slowly, glancing at the necklace in her hands.
"We're holding the funeral soon…" Lucy said quietly.
"I'll be there…" Wendy replied. "Um...what happened...?"
"Oh, right. You wouldn't know..." Lucy placed her hands in her lap. "After you beat Aiden, the Council soon showed up and took him in. Tartarus and Silent Sanctum escaped long before they arrived, though. But Aiden was taken in by the Council and they don't plan on letting him out anytime soon. You really gave it to him, I think they're just going to leave him like that too."
"Oh, that's good. That means he won't hurt anyone else now..." Wendy wanted to smile at that news. But she couldn't.
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Silent Sanctum's guild was basically a large mansion hidden deep in the forest. The guild members held their heads down in shame as their master walked back and forth, shaking his head. Their master was a seemingly young male with short black hair, red eyes, and he wore a large jacket. "You had one job…" he said in an irritated tone.
"W-We apologize, Master…!" Veronica said, knowing what punishment was coming for failing a task.
"You should've been able to handle Fairy Tail," The master went on. His tone implied that he was angry, but in a split second, he just smiled. "But it's alright. I saw this outcome." Jikan didn't seem to mind.
"Y...You saw it...?" Byron said with a gulp. Did that mean they walked into something that disappointed their master from the start!?
"I've seen this already." Jikan replied. "I've seen the outcomes where it failed...or where it succeeded. In most cases, Fiore's End ended just like that. But I was curious to see if anything would change from last time."
"Last...time...?" Veronica was too afraid to ask for details.
"...Just leave it alone." Aloysius said while shaking his head.
"White Eclipse joining the fray was expected. That old man's guild never knows when to keep their nose out of thing." Jikan still had a smile, although slightly annoyed. "Although, the other guilds appearing to lend them a hand...that was new. I wonder if was in response to the river of time preferring its original course."
"Original course...?" Horoki had to ask.
"It doesn't matter now. But I'll say this. If those wizards had not arrived, things would have played out very differently. However, before...Fairy Tail and White Eclipse were able to narrowly manage on their own." Jikan closed his eyes as he thought about something. Only he was aware of the difference he spoke of. "The future is going to be very, very interesting..."
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In the bowels of hell, the infamous dark guild, Tartarus stood. Inside the castle that was the guild, the guild master, Daityas, paced around, quite unhappily. "One job," Daityas said repeatedly. "Yet a bunch of shitty fairies and that White Eclipse guild managed to defeat all of you?"
"Well…!" Tobias started.
"SHUT THE FUCK UP, TOBIAS," Daityas yelled, instantly shutting the spell caster up.
"HA!" Kiora grinned.
"YOU TOO," Daityas screamed out, not bothering to hide his lividness. At least not to Tobias. "If you're going to throw your fights, at least make it look more convincing! Do you have any idea how hard it was watching your pathetic performances?"
"If I may…" A male with light red hair walked in, wearing a green hoodie and blue jeans.
"What is it, Mithril?" Daityas asked.
"Well…I was unable to find the body of the girl…." Mithril said.
"Tch…I see…I suppose it can't be helped…you idiots better do something to redeem yourselves otherwise I won't hesitate to shower you in hells flames…"
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.
"Looks like they were able to clean up their own mess after all." Emeraude stated while filing her nails.
"It sure was close, though. To think they had to pin their hopes on a kid..." Koryuji shook her head.
"What's done is done." Emeraude said calmly. "I'm sure King Ashnard wants to hear all about this. This is the second time Fiore has nearly destroyed everyone and everything around it. How much longer is the rest of the continent going to allow this to happen?"
"Who knows." Koryuji shrugged. "But I guess we should be getting back now..."
.
.
In an unknown location, there was a woman sitting upon a throne. She had long green hair, multicolored scales covering all along her body and venomous green eyes to boot. She tapped the arm of her chair with what could only be assumed was a smile of content. "Everything has turned out as it should. Excellent."
"Excellent?" A younger woman asked. She was half the size of the woman, but they shared identical appearances. The only difference was that this younger one had bright pink eyes instead. "I don't get it."
"You will in due time, my dear Ophelia." The woman said while patting the girl's head in a condescending manner. "The current turn of events...this is as it should be. I could sense a shift in the flow of time. There was a disturbance and a number of those humans would've died had I not warned their friends beforehand."
"Why do you care about that, Mother?" Ophelia asked with an annoyed look.
"For one reason and one reason alone. Those humans are crucial to your development, Ophelia. I have plans for them as well. I will not allow them to expire before they fulfill that which I intend to use them for." The woman said coldly. Ophelia didn't understand, but gave an indifferent shrug all the same.
.
.
"Incredible..." Heartless was standing in the center of a crater. It was a crater born from the Omega Fire Cannon shot that missed White Eclipse. In her hands were numerous tubes that were rapidly filling up with magic. She wasn't alone. There was a young girl with her that had purple hair and purple eyes.
"There's so much magic..." The young girl said.
"Indeed, Little Queen..." Heartless nodded slowly. They had King on the other line. "King..."
"What are the results, Heartless? Did this provide as much magic as we were hoping for?" King asked.
"There is an incredible volume of magic here for us to use. But for your goals...we still need more. This pushed us from 30% to 50%, at the very least. If Fiore can continue to pump out magic like this at quick rate, we will reach the goal in no time." Heartless reported. Whatever they were planning, Fiore's End only pushed their goals along significantly.
"I see. Hohohoho...this is quite alright. So we need a little more time before we can launch into action. Very well. Return to base for now. When Fiore is next in trouble you will depart again. Fiore will be the key to unlocking the greatest power of all..."
.
.
There was a large crater off in the middle of nowhere, still burning with heat from the residue from the results of the Omega Fire Cannon. In the center of the crater was a single man, sitting calmly. "...Impressive firepower. Was it a little wrong of me to feel hopeful?" The man said with a small sigh, shaking his head soon after. He was caught in the middle of that blast purely by chance, but in the end, it failed to kill him despite the landscape around him being forever scarred and changed. "I suppose it was. I knew it wouldn't be enough. I have found not a single thing that is, and I sincerely doubt that it exists in this world or the next." Zeref, the Black Wizard said while looking up at the sky. "No, that's not true. There is one thing that I can place my hopes on...E.N.D."
.
.
Everyone in Fairy Tail, White Eclipse, Blue Pegasus, Sting, Rogue, Yukino and a few members of Lamia Scale, such as Jura, Lyon and Chelia, stood at Cynthia's grave just on the outskirts of town. Everyone was indeed wearing black, and Natsu was the only one who had his shirt on backwards, but he didn't bother to fix it, he didn't feel up for it. "Here we are…" Lucy said quietly.
"This isn't very fun…" Kuro said with a sigh.
"Trust me, no one's having fun here…" Luke replied to Kuro. "I would be lying if I said I missed the girl…"
"She certainly was something…huh…" Aira commented, trying to give a fake smile.
"She didn't ask for any of it…" Selene said, but mostly to herself. "She was just a little girl…"
"Is everyone ready…?" Makarov asked quietly, looking around at all the visitors. Everyone nodded, and the old man cleared his throat. "We are gathered here today to remember one of Fairy Tail's mages. Though she wasn't a part of Fairy Tail for long, she was, and always will be a member of this family. I can't describe how I feel for being unable to protect one of my child…but I feel proud that she was able to call herself a proud member of Fairy Tail…I will never forget those words, and I'm sure none of us will forget Cynthia." Everyone in the crowd clapped slowly at Makarov's words, nodding in response. The old man was tearing up a bit, but he didn't want it to show, so he turned his head to the side. "Would anyone else like to say a few words…?"
Wendy nodded slowly, looking down at the ground. "I would, Master…"
"Come on up…" Makarov stepped down, allowing Wendy to take the stand.
Wendy took a deep breath before looking up at everyone with saddened eyes and a heartbroken expression. She opened her mouth to speak, but only tears fell from her eyes first. "C-Cynthia…she was a shy girl when we first met…but I could tell she was a nice girl, and I wanted to get to know her better…then I was poisoned, and she went out of her way to help me. And then she joined Fairy Tail…I can't even begin to describe how happy that made me feel, or the time I spent around her…I…" Wendy stopped, interrupting herself as she started crying again. "I-I'm sorry I couldn't protect you…!" Wendy ran from the stand and to a nearby tree.
"Wendy…" Carla frowned heavily at the sight of Wendy crying.
"Anyone else…?" Makarov said, frowning at the crying Wendy.
"YEAH!" A voice said from afar. "First off, Natsu, your shirt is on backwards!"
"What…?!" Natsu looked around at the sound of the voice.
"Second of all, black is such a sad color! I hate seeing so much of it in once place!" The voice continued.
"Who's saying that…?" Arc looked around slowly.
"AND FINALLY! WENDY, WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT CRYING!? Tears don't look good on you at all!" The voice carried on.
Wendy stopped crying immediately, not wanting to believe the sound of the voice she heard. "T-That's…?"
Cynthia jumped down from the trees above, landing on her feet. "TA-DAH! Cynthia Rose of Fairy Tail, at your service!" Everyone's jaw dropped.
"W-WHAT!?" Zalen jumped back.
"G-GHOST!" Aira flailed her arms around.
"…That's not a ghost…" Sidney replied.
"Miss me!?" Cynthia grinned slowly, looking over at everyone.
"H-How?!" Luke stared in shock. "B-But…you…and then….with the…!?"
"Maybe I should keep it a secret," Cynthia said in a teasing tone.
"About time…" Chelia gave Jura a sly smirk.
"He did say it would take a while…" Jura replied with a nod.
"What are you two mumbling about?" Reve asked curiously.
"Well, first we used that laser thing Aiden had and took the lacrima out of his body, then put it back in Cynthia's." Chelia explained. "And...surprisingly, when I used my magic on Cynthia, she started to wake up. I don't think she was actually dead. The beam did wound her by ripping the lacrima out of her body, but I think her heart was holding on because she wanted to be with Wendy. But it was really close...she was barely breathing. If we were even a minute later...although, she held on for so long. She must have been barely conscious during that final battle..."
"Gajeel-dono was the one who found her. Apparently, he had been standing right beneath the top of the tower...so her body fell near him." Jura explained.
"So that's where the body went…" Luke nodded slowly.
"Sssh…don't tell Wendy…!" Chelia flailed her arms. "Or anyone else!"
"Heh…My lips are sealed…" Luke said with a nod.
"C-CYNTHIA!" Wendy threw herself into Cynthia's arms, unsure whether to cry from happiness or sadness.
"Sssh…" Cynthia embraced Wendy tightly. "It's okay Wendy…I'm here…"
"Well well well…" Correll walked into the scene, a smirk on his face. "I was here to pay my due respect, but it looks like I don't have to…"
"YOU!" Natsu quickly placed himself in front of Wendy and Cynthia.
"What do you want?" Laxus asked, glaring over at Correll.
"I just told you," Correll responded. "But, it seems the threat to Fiore is still at large…"
"She's not a threat anymore…" Doranbolt walked in behind Correll.
"You sure about that, speedster?" Correll asked with his magic sealing cuffs at the ready.
"I am," Doranbolt nodded. "She's a member of Fairy Tail."
Correll got the subtle message Doranbolt was giving, and smirked slightly. "I'll let you off the hook for now, Fairy Tail wizard…but if you screw up even once, you're mine…" Correll nodded slowly as he and Doranbolt walked off.
"Well gee…" Cynthia rolled her eyes slowly but couldn't help but smile. "Well…he's right about one thing though…I am a Fairy Tail Wizard. You guys are my family, and I love you all. And White Eclipse is like my second family!"
"I wouldn't go that far…" Luke started, rubbing the back of his head.
"Pssh! You guys came all the way just to save me! Second family!" Cynthia nodded.
"Oh boy…" Waiston sighed.
"Absolutely not. We were gonna end you if things went badly." Reve was shooting that idea down right now.
"You sure picked a lousy time to make yourself known." Gajeel told Cynthia, as if he wasn't the one who found her. He had to keep up appearances. "If you were still alive, why didn't you come over as soon as you woke up!"
"Um..." Cynthia squeezed Wendy a little tighter in response, since they were still hugging each other. "To be completely honest, I only really woke up a few hours ago. But I did rush over as soon as I could! While I was unconscious, I did hear a heart beat...I thought it was mine, because of how slow it was at the time."
"...I woke up a few hours ago too." Wendy said with a bashful smile. "I heard...a heartbeat too. I also thought it was mine when I was fighting Aiden." But now that she thought about it...she gently placed her hand over Cynthia's chest, where her heart was and felt it beat. This was exactly what she heard earlier.
Cynthia did the same thing. The heartbeat she heard was Wendy's. This made her smile sheepishly and blush faintly too. "Hehe...I guess...our hearts are in sync now, huh?"
"I guess so..." Wendy had her own faint blush while looking at Cynthia. The joy she felt was simply unmatched.
"...Welcome back, Cynthia." Carla said with a soft smile. She didn't want to take away from her and Wendy's moment, but after all that happened, Carla wanted to welcome Cynthia with open arms. Cynthia smiled at Carla in turn.
"Oh, and I have to promise you guys something!" Cynthia nodded vigorously, probably having more energy than a normal person should, but she was with her family, so she couldn't help it.
"What's that?" Mirajane asked.
Cynthia closed her eyes, hugging Wendy tightly. They were holding each other like they would die if the other let go. But being in Wendy's arms was exactly what Cynthia wanted at this moment. "I'm home. And I'll never leave you guys again. I promise."
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Flames of Friendship: END.