In the wastelands far out of the empire's walls, the sun was beaming down on the dry land. No winds howled. It was quiet, so quiet that one could hear sand shift beneath their feet, or in a certain person's case, drop from his body. Limping slowly across the land, a battered Ajeel grunted with every strained pull he mustered. The wounds inflicted from Nic were still fresh, and after everything he's been told and went through, they weren't healing anytime soon.
With deep breaths, his ribs stung like acid. His teeth gritted as he tried to hold in every yelp. He would've lied down and waited a little longer before attempting to move, but recent thoughts of what certain people said to him left him seeking for answers.
"So tell me, grandson…have you thought of who the enemy is?"
Ajeel smirked. "So then you admit you love to fight."
"I do…but the kinds I love aren't the ones I expect you to understand. At least not yet."
From his talk with his grandfather, going to his conversation with Nic, it was rattling his cage so much. Until recently, he never cared for anything but fighting and pain; the two things he knew best. "Tch! Damn these thoughts. Why can't get these stupid things out of my head…?" He was brought out of his thoughts when he felt the ground vibrate beneath him. He looked down to find a small bulge of rock starting to lift from below. "Huh?" he squinted.
With a small 'POP' sound, the rock beneath burst open, revealing a familiar Trapinch that resurfaced and blinked. "Huh? Phew! Man that was scary…" he sighed. He looked up, getting notice of his surroundings. "Did I get far away?"
"What…you?" Ajeel inquired.
Hearing the familiar sound, Trapinch turned and went wide-eyed. "M-Master?!" he squealed horrifically. "I…uh…" Realizing his mistake in resurfacing in the wrong place and time, he bowed his head and cowered, bracing himself. "I-I'm sorry I failed! Please have mercy!"
A vein popped on Ajeel's head. "Grrr…! You've got some nerve showing your face you little…!"
Before Ajeel could get rough, a shrilling caw got his attention. When he looked up at the sound, his attention was drawn towards the Wingull that circled over his head. Oddly enough, when he looked at that Wingull, he was starting to get another sense of what his grandfather was saying. "You should try and be a little nicer to your colleagues. Maybe you'd feel better about yourself." Once more, his grandfather's words stung his body. He winced again, showing a pained expression as he clutched his side.
As the Wingull sailed about, his brows furrowed as he looked down at the Trapinch again.
"I-I'm sorry!" Trapinch squealed. He waited for whatever punishment was to come, but the longer he waited, the more pressure he was. But the punishment never came. Actually, Ajeel was walking pass him. "Wait…Master…?"
Ajeel didn't bother looking back. Instead, he was limping back home. "…do what you want. I couldn't care less…I'm too tired to deal with you right now. You just got lucky this time, that's all."
"Master…" Trapinch watched him go, leaving him confused.
Ajeel continued his course, limping to the empire very slowly. All while deeply thinking as the Wingull guided his way.
A bloodcurdling draconic roar shrilled through the atmosphere as Nic's maw opened to fire an explosive Inferno that expanded in a sea of blue flames, swallowing soldiers and enemy Pokémon. As the land crumbled beneath, the heat from the attack ripped many soldiers airborne while others with melted armor and body parts were pushed back.
Nic closed his mouth, looking intimidating ahead. "Charizard…Heat Wave!"
As soldiers were caught adrift, Charizard spread his wings, creating a short but harsh gust on either side before swinging his wings forward in an equally bloodcurdling roar. A boisterous and incinerating hurricane of orange winds cindered skin and blew everything within his line of sight away. Any blue flames lingering were swept up with the many soldiers unable to fight back.
One soldier was barely hanging on, his armor melted with a look of terror on his face. "…t-these guys…WHAT ARE THEY?!"
Nic and Charizard's mouths opened, which Charizard charging Flamethrower and Nic with Dragon Pulse. The swirling energies unleashed ripples as they were launched, combining into a multicolored dragon-shape blaze that obliterated levitating shreds of the earth towards the screaming man.
Elsewhere, two pairs of slashes created power waves that cut down soldiers and Pokémon. Erza was adorned in her Black Wing Armor as she fought alongside Scizor. Around them, there were numbers already at their feet, with many more wavering from the distance.
A soldier reached out. "Attack, now!"
At his command, a Magmar unleashed a Fire Spin, while an Eggxecute using Barrage, and three Skorupi firing Poison Sting at Erza and Scizor.
Erza turned towards the incoming attack wave, holing her sword to intercept.
"Moon Flash!"
Swinging her sword in a cross-shape, the wave of the attack shredded clean through all the attacks, knocking and defeating the Pokémon in one go.
"What?!" the soldier was left speechless before a red blur passed him. Faster than what he could trace, a silver glint cut beside him, making him scream and fall in pain.
The blur went to a stop, revealing Scizor with crossed arms fading from Bullet Punch. "You let your guard down." She muttered. She caught whim of a Raticate jumping from the side, which she countered by keeping arms crossed and used X-Scissor, making a deep blow that knocked it to soldiers behind.
Erza held her pose while Nic landed behind her, both back-to-back as they faced the flames surrounding them. "How many more can you see?" she asked.
"Not many. Scavengers are coming up." Nic evaluated. He glanced back. "How are you holding up?"
She smirked. "Don't worry. In fact, I'm just getting warmed up."
Nic looked back ahead and smirked. "You sure that's not the temperature talking?"
"Perhaps…but we have to hurry."
Nic frowned. "Yeah. We gotta regroup with the others…let's go, Charizard!"
"Ready!" He unleashed another roar skywards, expelling ripples through the air. He flapped his wings and went sailing ahead with a forming Dragon Claw, while Nic flapped once and got airborne. He flipped constantly into a fireball, via Flame Wheel as everything was brought to flames.
Another guy was thrown into ten soldiers at once like bowling pins, knocking them out almost instantly.
"Crap! Where did that come from-?!" another soldier was suddenly struck by a pair of pincers from the side, knocking him down.
"Sorry, but you asked for that!" Lisanna in her Drapion Take-Over chimed. She then looked up. "Rufflet, Fury Attack!"
"Roger that!" Rufflet's beak glowed a faint white before he dove down on a soldier's helmet. He pecked profusely making the soldier wane away, where behind, Machop was waiting.
Once close enough, he attacked. "Low Kick!" He kicked the soldier right behind the legs. The soldier screamed in pain before he tripped backwards, where he thudded clumsily before Machop. As he laid on the ground, Machop and Rufflet gave each other smiles.
Close by, another soldier swung his sword, only for it to shatter against Elfman's Lizardman Take-Over skin. As the pieces scattered, he gasped.
Elfman glared over his shoulder at the man. "Nice try." With one grizzly backswing, the soldier shot into the wall, creating a crater that the guy was embedded in.
With a gruff huff, Elfman reverted back from his Take-Over and reconvened with Lisanna and their Pokémon. They all looked around, inspecting the many soldiers that they were plagued with previously.
"Looks like it's over now." Elfman said.
Machop crossed his arms. "Hmph. Yeah, looks like it. Shame."
Lisanna sweat-dropped. "Eh, I would think that's a good thing." From the look on Machop's face, he didn't seem satisfied. She sighed. "Good grief."
"Well I guess that wasn't so bad." Rufflet said.
Lisanna coped. "…yeah. To be honest, I think that went better than the time at Caracole Island. I think we got lucky!"
Elfman gazed at the ground, looking to be pondering. "…yeah. But wouldn't you think they had more firepower or something? I mean those guys were pretty weak."
Lisanna tilted her head. "Huh?...now that you mention it, I guess they were a little bad."
"A little?" Machop repeated. "Pfft! Those guys didn't even have the strength to pick up forks! It'd be a whole lot tougher if they had Pokémon with them. Now that'd make things harder."
"But if that's the case, where's the rest then?" Rufflet inquired.
"Not sure." Lisanna said. "…but knowing Alvarez, if I wanted the most powerful threat dealt with, wouldn't I throw everything at them in one spot?"
"Yeah, sounds like something they'd do." Elfman figured. "Can't say for certain, but maybe someone else is handling the bulk then."
"You think it's Natsu or Nic?"
"I don't know…but I'm not going to just sit here and wait for an answer." He turned and faced a hallway. "The others have to be around here somewhere, and we gotta find them and fast, before a Spriggan shows up."
Lisanna nodded. "You're right. C'mon, guys!"
"Gotcha!" Rufflet followed his Trainer.
Machop tailed behind. "Fine, but I call dibs on the first guys we see!" he yelled as he ran with them.
Gajeel groaned as he started to stir awake. His eyes weakly opened, his stomach churning finally subsided. "Gnnnngh…" he mumbled. "Man…what the hell kind of transportation is…uughh." He covered his mouth, trying hard to not think about it. "Crap." He lurched on the ground.
"Looks like he's starting to come around." A voice said.
"So I see." Another said.
Hearing a set of volumes, the Dragon Slayer's eyes shot open. 'Those voices!' When he sat up and looked around, he saw that he was in new surroundings. He noticed that they were still outside, but it looked like they were within palace grounds. The stone ground was smoothly paved. The bordering was clearly marked as they seemed to be residing in an open training ground area. When he turned about, the voices earlier resonated from Pantherlily and Macbeth. "Huh? Lily!" he exclaimed. "And you!"
Macbeth looked humbled. "I would prefer it if you call me by Macbeth, thank you."
"Gajeel, are you feeling well?" Lily inquired.
The Iron Dragon Slayer calmed and slowly got up. "Yeah…just that last sendoff left me a bit…" Before he went too far in, he chose to move on. "…but what happened?"
"We're not sure. But it looks like that Spriggan managed to separate all of us."
"What?!"
Macbeth nodded. "It's true. It seems we're the only ones in the area for now."
Gajeel understood by the look on his face, but he sure didn't seem pleased about it. "Well isn't this great. Looks like they got us right where they want us then."
Lily looked around. "Agreed…but something's wrong."
Gajeel glared. "…yeah, I feel it too. Where is everybody? You'd think they'd ambush us or something."
"We've been alone for quite a while now." Macbeth stated. "I haven't seen any soldiers or enemy Pokémon since our severing. I wouldn't think they'd forgotten us conveniently if that's the case."
Meanwhile, while they were speaking, they were unaware of a silhouette at the tiptop of a tower spike blinded by sunlight. His scarf swayed as he faced the three way far down.
Pantherlily faced Gajeel. "Are you able to pick up anything?"
Gajeel's eyes narrowed as he tried to use his Dragon Slayer senses. He sniffed the air and his ears twitched, but alas, even then something felt wrong. "Not much. All I'm ready getting are just a few feint whiffs. But the place is so big I can't tell."
"Where's the closest scent?" Pantherlily questioned.
"…not that far…" his eyes narrowed further. "But…"
"What is it?"
"It's like…I can't hear anything." He strained to talk about it, but it was just hard to process it. "…I don't know what it is, but all I can hear is just you guys. Not even wind…" His nose crinkled suddenly, making him gasp.
"What's wrong?" Pantherlily looked up, realizing what was being smelled before it was too late. Macbeth saw as well, but they weren't fast enough.
With quick thinking, Gajeel sharply turned skyward and swung his arm, which became a sword of iron to clang against something. A moment of silence passed as he posed, and the next second, what looked like a red-tipped kunai pierced the ground. With his arm still out, he winced as a pain went through the iron. It showed his sword arm had an acidic scratch in it.
"Crap. What the hell was that?" He caught quick wind of more kunai shooting from above.
"Hrngh!" Macbeth reached up, this time using his own magic to distort and refract the kunai around Gajeel, piercing the ground instead. "On your guard." He warned.
Gajeel recoiled. "I know!" He looked up, seeing where the attacks would come from. In his vision, he saw a silhouette drop from above, swerving and slashing in streaks down onto him. He used his sword rm to block the attack. He managed to deflect, but the iron had suffered deeper acidic marks in them. He grunted as it felt like real acid.
The swift figure swirled as he was recoiling in midair, sending a net at Gajeel. Pantherlily transformed into Battle Mode and swung his Musica Sword, slicing the net and making it fall pass them. The figment went to a single handstand before doubling over behind a pillar, leaving the others out of sight.
"Gajeel, are you okay?!" Pantherlily exclaimed.
"Yeah, I'm fine!" Gajeel morphed his eroded arm back to normal. Once in place, he saw his iron-hard skin had something they didn't normally have – gashes. They stung. "What the hell? Where did these come from? Gngh!" another pain went through him.
With swift and silent movements, the silhouette that attacked nimbly flipped up the column and onto its flat top. With it looking down on them once more, now closer than before, the others could see who it ws they were dealing with.
"Everyone, up there!" Pantherlily warned.
Gajeel and Macbeth turned towards the pillar's top to find someone staring down at them.
The man appeared to have a short ninja scarf flowing in the winds, which were now heard. The silhouette looked like an armored ninja, with a cowboy top hat. His glare was serious as he leered at everyone down below, deep silence resonating from the air around him. But what wasn't silent was the Magic Power that was flowing from him. It was making their heartrates faster. Decker had come out of hiding.
Gajeel took a step back. "Who's the ninja playing cowboy?" he grunted.
"Hard to say." Macbeth said. "But judging by his Magic Power...I would think he's one of Alvarez."
"A Spriggan." Pantherlily deduced.
Macbeth nodded. "It seems we have no choice then. I take it that this is the part where we have to cooperate?"
Finally working through the pain, Gajeel smirked at Decker. "Fine…but make sure you don't get in the way."
"Dually noted. Now then…" Macbeth took a stance, readying to attack. "In order to reach our comrades, we must take down this Spriggan, together."
"Heh! You took the words right of my mouth! Lily!"
Pantherlily took a battle stance. "Right! Count me in as well!"
Decker glared down at them. With not even a snort, he pulled out a Poke Ball. He tossed it, sending out a Pokémon to battle. The popping sound was heard, and out flapping its wings was a large owl-like Pokémon with dark brown wings with a lighter brown body. It had red eyes with black rings around them. It gave a loud hoot as it leveled to the adversaries.
Gajeel narrowed his eyes. "So he's using Pokémon too. Wonder what that one can do?"
"Well, suppose we'll find out, won't we?" Macbeth said.
With a sharp snap of his fingers, the large owl let out a shrilled cry as its eyes glowed, via Confusion. A telekinetic force picked up the three and sent them flying backwards. Gajeel and Pantherlily landed first and glided across the ground, as to where Macbeth landed and the next second Decker was in his face. Macbeth was so surprised at how fast it was that he didn't have time to process the elbow to his gut.
"Bleh!" The Refractor Mage gagged as the elbow met his gut, shooting him back further.
With the distraction, Gajeel and Pantherlily charged from both sides, with the Musica Sword massive and Gajeel's Iron Dragon Sword active yet again. Both roared as they closed the gap on Decker, swinging at the same time.
SHING!
Sparks flew as both met something solid. Gajeel smirked. "Not so fast when you're in midair, are you?" His taunt was met with him realizing that splinter flew everywhere. "…what?" Instead of Decker, he and Lily realized they split a wood dummy to pieces. It fell at their feet, leaving them shocked.
"It was a fake!" Lily yelled.
"How'd he even do that?" Gajeel wondered. His nose crinkled again. "Huh?"
Macbeth grunted as he tried getting up from his last blow. He gripped his stomach and looked up, seeing Decker right over the guys' head. "…a-!" He meant to finish what he said, but his warning fell mute. He saw that the others didn't hear him, so he tried again. But nothing came out, leaving him startled.
High above, Decker began rotating. His lack of sound made pins and needles shoot down like shuriken towards Lily and Gajeel. Both didn't realize until the last seconds, where they blocked using their weapons. While pins and needles stung and shot like bullets, they pierced the ground, and the impact's recoil made both mages recoil.
Gajeel stepped back first, and in a split second, Decker reappeared crouching at his feet. His cowboy hat shrouded his eyes as he reached for Gajeel. With cat-like reflexes, Gajeel pivoted to avoid, getting to the side to deal a kick in Decker's gut. The attack landed a mark and sent him through the air, where he flipped and landed on the side of the pillar. With his own reflexes, the lacrima shin armor shimmered and he instantly disappeared again, leaving a crater within the pillar's side.
'So fast!' Gajeel exasperated moments before an intense pain went through his gut now. This time Decker surprise attacked with a fist embedded with brass rings. The impact sent Gajeel flying and screaming in anguish.
"Gajeel!" Pantherlily shouted.
Decker straightened up and snapped his fingers twice. The Noctowl faced Pantherlily from above, getting his attention. "You!" Lily braced himself. "Prepare yourself-!" He was ready to exclaim and ready himself, but his own phrasing was cut off. He stopped for a moment and blinked. He tried to say something, but never came out. 'My voice-!'
In sharp quick motions, Decker slashed his kunai in his prepared hold. He grazed Lily across the chest, sending him on his back with a muted scream. Even his thud was mute.
"Lily!" Gajeel grunted.
Pantherlily attempted to get up, but suddenly wire and spikes cuffed his muscular arms. He was once again shocked as he looked left and right, seeing how braced he was with the ground. When he looked up and without the Musica Sword in reach, the owl faced him head on.
Decker snapped his fingers again, making the owl's red eyes glow and radiant waves emanated, via Hypnosis. The status attack wavered towards Lily's line of sight, where everything around him started distorting. His mentality began to shimmer and crack, and the tough beady eyes he had grew hazy. With strength fading, his eyes rolled to the back of his head and shut as he fell to the ground, fast asleep.
"Lily! NO!" Gajeel went to attack again, but a kunai was launched right between the legs, making him veer back with Macbeth. He faced Decker with anger rising. "You…who the hell are you?!"
Decker said nothing as he held his arm out. Noctowl landed on his shoulder, waiting patiently as another magic signature was being sensed. Both looked to the side, which Gajeel and Macbeth followed.
Slowly, with swaying hips showing, Valeria walked out the palace entrance. She had an unemotional expression as she introduced herself physically. She gave a meek bow before the foes ahead of her.
"The hell is this chick?" Gajeel grunted.
"Another enemy, if I had to guess." Macbeth answered.
The mage snapped her fingers next. Using her magic, bindings coils slowly eroded from inside, lowering down a massive net containing figures that left Macbeth and Gajeel completely dumbfounded. Staring wide-eyed, both fell silent as they saw the many figures inside. A bead of sweat went down Gajeel's face.
"No way…"
Inside the next over Valeria's head, it showed a wild Hippopotas, with Richard, along with the others that he had thwarted along the way. They all looked battered and exhausted, some unconscious.
"You've gotta be kidding me." Gajeel gasped. "That Mermaid and Sabertooth chick, too?"
Macbeth stared up at his friends, moral horror all over his face. "Richard…Sorano…Sawyer…" he was at a loss for words as he looked down at Decker. "Are you saying…that this man was responsible for all this?"
Gajeel shot another glare, but this one being more unsound. "Just what the hell is going on…?"
Decker was dead silent as ever, with Valeria and Noctowl by his sides as he held up kunai.
A straggler finally fell to his defeat before Nic as he, Erza, Scizor, and Charizard were all standing in a correlated group amongst many of thousands of soldiers in the spacious domain. "Looks like that was the last of them." Nic figured. "For now that is."
Erza nodded. "Their numbers were decreased drastically from last time." She requipped back to her default armor. "But knowing them, they might still have more traps and soldiers ready elsewhere."
Nic nodded in understanding and transformed into his Mind Form. He glared off to the side as he tried to connect. 'Is anyone there? Can you hear me guys?' He waited for a response, but he wasn't getting anything from the others. "…no good. Not even Mest is picking up."
"They must have walls designed to counter our connections." Erza figured.
"Maybe it doesn't work inside, but let's try and get outside. We might be able to find the others then."
"Right."
Both Trainers turned to their Pokémon and returned them to their Poke Ball and Net Ball. Once fastened, both looked for the nearest entrance taken and headed in that direction.
In the empty corridor, Sophie and Griffon were side-by-side as they squared themselves as they faced a familiar foe, at lest to Sophie. The Memory-Make Mage was glaring at Jacob as he flexed his knuckles and heard his bones crack. Saying she was unsound would be an understatement.
"Sophie Lednick, and acquaintance…t'is a pleasure to see you here of all places." Jacob started.
Griffon gave a meek smirk as his fingers were loose. "Please, good sir…you're far too kind."
Jacob's expression darkened. "So you say?"
Sophie's glare was deep. "So you're the person Nic told me about. I remembered you were in charge of that army intended for us back when you were on our turf."
"Believe me. The memory is all too clear as day, Miss Lednick. Not a day goes by in this country when your guild's actions have dared sullied our late emperor's desires."
"He wanted to die. And he got his wish…whether we liked it or not." There was a hint of pain in Sophie's phrase. She recalled Mavis dying with her lover, and that wrecked just as much pain on them s it did their foes back then. "But what I'd like to know is why you intend on doing this?"
Jacob chuckled. "Well…that would be telling now, would it?"
Griffon stepped in front. "Don't let him get to you. You know what he wants. We're not that stupid as you think we are."
"Right, my apologies." Jacob humbly sighed. "I should've known Brandish would turn to the guild that imprisoned her. You Fiorians truly are despicable."
"As to you. Using Pokémon as weapons. Exactly what are you hoping to gain out of this?" Sophie asked.
Jacob craned his head up and glared from an angle. "I don't believe you are right about that claim, young one."
"What?"
"Tell me, do you actually see any Pokémon around here?" Jacob gestured to the whole room around him. Sophie and Griffon glanced about to find his accusation true. "Now tell me, exactly what kind of assassin would I be if I relied on such low-level creatures to do the job for me…I'd much sully my own hands."
"So you're certain you came by yourself?" Griffon chided.
Jacob's head lowered as he smirked. "Oh trust me, I believe that I'm more than adequate for the job. Among the newly reformed Spriggan, only so many of us use Pokémon. And many others do not have subordinates or understudies, such as I…but I believe that's enough talk now, don't you think."
Griffon frowned. "I should've said that a long time ago."
Jacob smirked as swiped his arm across. "Then let us commence, intruders!"
"Sophie, get back!" Griffon hurried in front. "Wire Fence!" Swiping his arms, a fence of wires from before materialized. It blocked something invisible that struck against it.
The invisible object retracted towards Jacob and he used his magic to disappear next. The mage's presence was unseen, but they knew he was around somewhere. As the two thought on their feet, Griffon's defense managed to uphold.
Sophie gasped at the thought that came. She swiftly turned around. "Behind us?!"
Taking a gander, Griffon heard and understood. His arm swiped around, making his wire arch behind in time before something made contact with it. Time slowed down as Sophie stepped off to the side, narrowly evading a split bullet from the wire. She and Griffon found themselves surrounded by the wired fencing with very little inserts. Once more, another object hit the fence, followed by a succession of anther. And another. It kept coming, and Griffon and Sophie were finding themselves being grazed as they ducked and tried to avoid shards of split bullets.
"Crap, he's got us pinned." Griffon ducked as another bullet went over his head. "Hey, can you get him?!"
Sophie was on her knees as she concentrated. "Yeah…" She put a finger to her forehead. 'He may be invisible, but he's still here.' "Memory-Make: Scorn of the Armored Winds!" Around the fencing, iron winds with shredding power like Gajeel's roar churned into a small cyclone. Sophie's arms spread apart, expanding its radius and roaring outwards.
Inside the turbulence, Jacob was reversed out of his magic, covering up as he was being shredded from all sides. 'Damnit! An omnidirectional attack!' he sniped as the winds subsided, reveling him airborne.
With the fencing down, Griffon made his move. He reached up, expelling wires that went towards the ceiling. Once fastened, he reeled himself skywards until he was close to Jacob. Once over him, the Wire Mage dropped a little, giving a bungee kick to his chest and sending him to the ground.
Griffon reeled himself up until he was at the high ceiling, hanging a massive height like a spider. When he looked down, he saw that Jacob was already getting up. "He's sturdy." He muttered.
Jacob smirked. "Understatement." He whipped his arm up, unleashing something invisible up towards Griffon. He used his knees to cover, but in actuality, the projectile was a slick knife that pierced the ceiling, cutting through the wires. In shock, Griffon began to fall.
"Griffon!" Sophie's worries were redirected when Jacob suddenly appeared in front of her, holding another knife.
"Now it's your turn." Jacob jabbed forward, to which Sophie narrowly dodged. He kept swiping and slashing with precision, with Sophie narrowly dodging each blow; parts of her hair were barely cut in the process.
As Griffon fell, he opened and eye and saw how close he was getting towards the ground. Using his magic, he extended wires all around, attaching to both walls. He hung in the middle and hung by a loose thread, much like a spider. He looked down then, finding Sophie on the defensive.
Sophie adverted to hand-to-hand combat, but as her acrobatic kicks swung about, Jacob easily blocked and parried with a knife strike, which she had to steer clear from. When Sophie found an opening to kick, Jacob maneuvered around and grabbed the back of her heel. Rendered in shock, Sophie was pulled around by Jacob until he slammed her into the ground, sending a shock through her gap. The man quickly found himself over with a knife.
"You seem to have been aware." He sniped. "I'm quite…versatile." He went and struck with his knife. As it closed in, Sophie found herself pinned, unable to escape.
VWHIP!
Suddenly like a puppet, she was dragged skywards, yanked out of the potential stab to the neck. "What?!" Jacob followed his gaze up, seeing Griffon upside-down and pulling Sophie up. "You…!"
"Alright, show off!" Griffon exclaimed.
Recoiling and getting over the shock, Sophie smirked. "How kind of you." She rhetorically said. The wires let go of her and she was over Jacob, a finger to her forehead.
"Memory-Make: Pyro Saucer!"
Flaming saucers from above rained down onto Jacob. He was forced to cover up as the flame-like bullets attacked bombarded his jacket. He held his ground as embers obscured his vision. As the attack subsided, he looked up to find Sophie coming down with an acrobatic axe kick. He blocked with a forearm, rolling it down and throwing a sucker punch to Sophie's face, sending her back. He then heard a shout from above, revealing Griffon coming down with a staff made completely of millions of wired fibers. He brought the staff down, which Jacob dodged. As he slid back, the assassin flicked his fingers, sending invisible weaponry at the green-haired mage. Griffon twirled his staff around, showing his dexterity as his hips swung within each turn, knocking away every gun and knife blow. Around him, knives and bullets dropped like rain, and Sophie was in the back, recovering from her recent blow. She was amazed at what she saw.
'He's so fast…'
Griffon kept twirling while Jacob kept firing. Neither one let up until seconds passed, resulting in a deadlock. The wired poll Griffon had was held in hand, while Jacob balled a fist. Each glared at each other like it was personal, which was starting to be the case.
"Heh, you're starting to annoy me with your little tricks." Jacob sneered.
Griffon smirked. "Gee, that's funny. I'd thought you of all people would be amused by my little tricks." His eyes narrowed. "Sound like a hypocrite if you ask me."
Jacob adjusted his slightly tattered tie. "Ha! Such mere words coming from someone who uses traps than mere weapons. I'm curious, exactly hoe many people have you caught victim to your playing around?"
The sounds of chords pulling came from Griffon's wrists and fingers as wires receded away from his poll. He gave Jacob a serious glare that made even the Stealth Mage unsound. "…you really wanna know?" he asked coldly. "You really wanna know just how many people I killed to get to where I am now?"
Sophie fell silent as she gave Griffon a look. She recalled them about to talk more about him, but this felt like something she shouldn't relate to.
Jacob raised a brow. "Do tell, because of the countless men I have slain, they haven't come close to the countless I have taken over the years."
Griffon sneered. "Really? You don't care enough to count or remember the faces you've killed. Well, hate to break it to ya, but you know how many faces I've seen and remembered? I had to remember 211,746 faces…and every one of them is still there in my dreams."
Sophie's eyes widened at the number he stated. She couldn't believe he stated that many with deep scorn.
Jacob's eyes narrowed grimly. "…is that so? Well then…" He clutched his knuckles tight. "I won't take such a claim lightly after what I've seen. Let's see just who has what it takes to be a true assassin, shall we?"
"Heh, funny, I was gonna say the exact same thing." Griffon waved his arms, summoning wire to ready his next move. "Courtesy from one assassin to another."
"C'mon! C'mon~…crap! Are you freaking kidding me right now?! Just what the hell is this?! No signal?!" Aniya gritted her teeth in rising anger as she found herself in a tight spot. She tried continuously to use her technology to locate and communicate, but she couldn't get anything out. She was exasperating by the second. "Well isn't this just great." She groaned. "Of all the people to get split up with, I had to get the short end of the stick."
Behind her, she wasn't alone. Wendy, Carla, Erik, and Kinana all happened to be there right beside her. They were transported with her to the palace's upper level gardens. It was spacious, open, and isolated.
"Hey, it's alright." Wendy assured. "It's not that bad."
"Wendy, I wouldn't encourage her if I were you." Carla insisted.
Aniya glared at the Dragon Slayer. "You think?" she didn't sound convinced. "We just got split up just a minute ago, and you're saying it'll be okay?"
"W-well I…"
"Alright, don't get all snappy, princess." Erik defended his fellow Dragon Slayer. "You know it'd do you a lot of good if you just shut up and listen."
Aniya snuffed her nose up and turned away. "Hmph! And why would I listen to a creep like you?"
"Because this 'creep' actually can hear things. Now look, I'm hearing a few things here and there, and a lot of muffling is inside those walls. Odds are most of our pals are inside."
"Then what are we standing around for?" Aniya turned towards the closed doorway on the other side of the courtyard. "The sooner we get back together, the better for me." She started down her path, making way to get back with her team, and away from specific people that make her sick to the bone. As she went on, the others talked behind her.
"Well she's certainly a peach." Carla sniped.
Wendy sweat-dropped. "Y-yeah…but, I'm wondering, is she always like this?"
Carla shrugged. "Not that I haven't been paying attention to her, but I don't think she's being very open. Frankly, I feel something about this is wrong."
"You think?" Wendy looked towards Erik. "Hey, Erik. What do you think?"
Erik knew. He could hear all the swearing inside her head and thoughts. She wanted to get as far away from him and Kinana as possible. She could hear just as much venom from her annoyance as he could unleash himself. But rather than leave it to Wendy's problem, he chose to keep quiet. "…beats me." He shrugged. He and the others were cut off when Kinana walked pass them. "Huh? Cubel…uh, Kinana?" Erik watched her walk towards Aniya.
Kinana stopped behind the girl, holding her ground. "Um, excuse me?"
Aniya glanced back. "…what?"
"Did…we do something wrong to offend you? I mean, we didn't mean to do anything. It's just…"
Aniya stood in silence as she glared over her shoulder. She acknowledged Kinana's worries, but looked away. "Don't worry about it. It's none of your business…just keep your distance from me."
"O-okay…but you know, you can always talk to us. I mean we are allies, right?"
Aniya harshly turned further. "Right, keep telling yourself that. I'll let you know when I can make time for a play date."
"But-!" Kinana was stopped cold when Aniya turned towards her harshly.
"Alright, look here, girly! Why don't you and everybody else just get off my case already?!"
Wendy, Carla, and Erik all looked shock at her outburst at Kinana. The mage was holding up, but she along with everyone else was startled by the seething stare Aniya had. It spelled hate all over.
"You really wanna know why I'd rather bob for apples than spend another second with people like you? You wanna know why acupuncture sounds like incredible therapy right now? It's because people like you make me sick!"
"People like…us?"
"That's right." Aniya venomously retorted. "You guys that appreciate those creatures that slither around with no manners! You guys that actually thinks those things are okay. Well not me…" she seethed squinted daggers. "…those damn snakes."
"Snakes?" Kinana went wide-eyed at her point given. She looked back at Erik, who offered little but a straight face.
"Yeah, I said it. I hate snakes! And everybody who sides with them!" Aniya snapped. "You have any idea how repulsive those things are, with those bodies and everything about them? Why, how can there even be snake-like Pokémon, too? I can't believe that Nic and you guys are okay with those venomous creatures!" She sharply turned away. "And don't even bother asking…I just know, okay?"
"So then…you hate us because we're comfortable with snakes?" Kinana inquired.
"Well that certainly is a crude reason." Carla exasperated.
Aniya snuffed and walked off. "Hmph, maybe it is, but that's the way I am. Now you happy? Good…now don't get in my face again…or I'll have to go back on what Riaan asked of me."
Kinana reached out to say something, but Erik put a comforting hand on her shoulder. The two looked at each other, with one of worry, but the other encouraging. Erik knew it was best for space to be left between them, at least for a little while.
"Wow. That wasn't nice at all." Wendy said.
"Very big understatement." Carla said. "All because she has a grudge against snakes, so she takes it out on others…I fear we may have to find the others faster than what I thought."
In the shadows somewhere, there was a pair of sultry lips that created a smirk. A sweet yet powerful smell entered her nostrils, her lips moisturizing. "My, what's this taste in the air? It smells…" She lustfully licked her lips, leaving saliva on them. "Delicious."
Aniya walked closer towards the entrance, unaware of this presence. She tried to connect again, but with no luck. "Gnnngh…drats. These Alvarez guys must be cutting off our communication somehow. They must have a lacrima somewhere, or someone's taking in all the signals so that they know who's where. Great. That means we have to play guessing games, my least favorite."
Far behind, Kinana nervously sweat-dropped again. "She sure does like to complain, doesn't she…?"
Erik shrugged. "Well not all of us can be picky you know. That chick's just got problems for all I care."
"Yeah…" Wendy followed behind, but she and Erik stopped in their tracks. Both Dragon Slayers looked startled as they were hearing something.
"Huh? Erik?" Kinana questioned.
"Wendy? What's wrong?" Carla questioned.
Wendy sniffed the air. A very strange smell enflamed her nostrils. Her brow furrowed. "You smell that?"
Erik nodded. "Yeah. I hear it, though." He tensed up. "We're not alone."
Aniya noticed the small chitchat behind and looked over again. "Hey, what do you guys talk about?" She suddenly heard rustling and turned around. "Who's there?!" She requipped a rifle, prepping it for an attack. "Come out, now!"
There was a silence in the air before the group began to tense up. They were starting to feel a Magic Power with an odd, chilling sound that was like a tongue flicking. It especially left Aniya stone cold. "My~, my~." From behind a pillar on the side o the entrance, a figure swayed her hips and emerged. "My goodness, so that's where all these scents were coming from! Well isn't this a treat for little ole me!" The others glaring saw the woman emerging had a massively long skirt that dragged itself across the ground. Her clothing was a little skimpy, but otherwise seductive. She gave a charming smile as she looked at them all with her beguiling eyes. Lia had arrived.
"An enemy?" Carla asked defensively.
"Wow, such ravishing company I have today, oh lucky me!" Lia chimed. "Now, just where is this delicious and sweet smell coming from…?" she scanned everyone, until her attention fell towards Wendy. "Oh~, well this smell and taste, from you? Oh you're so cute!" She chimed, though her eyes narrowed with the smile thickening. "Why, I could just eat you up."
"Eh…thanks." Wendy wasn't comfortable with how her enemy was treating her, but she persevered.
"Who is this, Erik? A Spriggan?" Kinana questioned.
"Don't know. But watch it…she's not in the right mind."
Lia looked all around, smirking at the many feasting upon her eyes. "Oh dear, who would send a sweetiepie like you here of all places? Those Fiorians really are savages, huh?" She faced Carla. "And you…oh, quite a smell you have. It's making my hair stand on end. Ohhh, I'm almost shaking!" she giggled meekly before facing Erik and Kinana. "And you two…hm, well, don't you have such magic. What a taste." She said dryly.
"A taste of magic?" Erik questioned. 'Is she saying all that stuff because she can 'smell' our type of magic energy?'
Lia lastly turned towards Aniya, giving her a raised brow. "Oh, and what do we have here? Another cutie? And who might they call you?"
Aniya didn't answer. Instead, she stared at the woman with inquiry. She still had her rifle up, but her guard was down. She was staring at her and her face with such a trance. It was like she knew her. 'Wait…do I know this woman?' Her brow furrowed. 'No, it can't be. But those eyes…they remind me…' Her mind briefly flashed back to when she saw that same disgusting image. She shook her head and remained wary. 'Stop it! Get a grip! You're here to beat these guys, right? So get serious!' She aimed for Lia. "Look you, don't answer to enemies so easily. Just who are you anyway?"
Lia pointed to herself. "Who? Me?" she feigned shock. "Oh~, phooie. Well, guess some better than others I suppose. I guess I can let you know…if you let me?" she chimed.
"The heck's that mean?"
"Oh you'll know." She faced Aniya and the others, smirking lustfully. "So tell me, my sweet guests…" her eyes began to ripple, turning into a hypnotic pattern that was mesmerizing. "How would you like to stay a while? I promise…it'll be fun."
A pink head of hair was patted by a comforting hand, this being from a familiar blonde. "There, better Natsu?" Lucy chimed.
Up on his feet, Natsu cracked his neck by tilting his head like Kecleon would. "Gnnngh…yeah, that's the spot." He sighed. "Man, how does Nic's chameleon thing do this every second."
"I guess we can count that as one of the seven wonders of the world." Happy chimed in.
"Well I'm just glad we didn't get seriously hurt. Right, Brandish?" Lucy turned towards the last member of their company, Brandish. The Command T Mage shrugged.
"Speak for yourself." Natsu grumbled before he arched his back backwards, making rows of bones pop.
For this group in particular, they were transported to another part of the palace's insides. The hallway they were in was rather spacious, with mounted decorations on walls all around them like knight armor, paintings of landscapes, and through it all, they too found themselves isolated. Natsu was dragged along, and of course he wasn't feeling so hot…especially with Lucy and Brandish falling on him upon landing. As rough as a mattress as he was, he took one for the team, even if he didn't like it.
Happy looked at his surroundings. "Where are we?"
"It looks like we've fallen within their reaches after all." Brandish said calmly, eyes narrowing. "We must have been teleported into the palace. I would imagine we were diverged from the others as well."
"I get it. So they can pick us off one by one then, huh?" Natsu guessed.
"More or less. We're not exactly on fair ground either. I wouldn't be surprised if Neinhart went and set up traps or ambushes around here for us to clumsily stumble in." she gave a deep sigh. "Typical of him to not even think of his surroundings when a worker can just walk in and get killed."
Lucy faced Natsu, smiling. "Well, I think we'll be okay. We have Natsu's smell and hearing. And trust me, nothing can get past those." She chuckled.
"Aye!" Happy chimed.
Brandish sighed in mild exasperation. "You're too cocky for your own good. But I suppose it can't be helped. Heaven knows I've tried."
Natsu shrugged. "C'mon, you make it sound like it's a bad thing. It's nothing new for us." He turned away, facing a hall. "Anyways, guess we better get going in some direction. I can't make much scent where we are…this place has a weird smell making things hard to pick up. You guys smell anything?" He waited for an answer, but didn't get one. "…oh, sorry. Forgot, guess you guys can't smell well, huh?" He turned around to face them, but instead of meeting them so casually, the Dragon Slayer's eyes widened slightly when he saw how stiff the three were. It was like they were statues. And to make matters all the more disturbing, they weren't even blinking as their poses were the same. "…guys? Guys?" he called to them. "Lucy? Happy? Brandish?" Getting a little freaked out, he moved in front of them, staring at them in varied angles. He saw how not even their pupils were moving when he moved a hand in front of them. It only served to make him even more discomforted. "Guys? Hey, snap out of it! What the hell's going on?! Hey!" He went to move Lucy by shaking her shoulders rapidly, and yet when he touched her, it was like all her weight fell with each lever. He let go of her, shocked to see how she was at an angle after shaking her. He stepped away, a distilled terror in his eyes. "What the hell…?"
Suddenly, a sharp incense got into his nose. This one made his eyes shrink as he stood in place. Facing away, behind him, a familiar figure equipped for battle stood motionless. Natsu slowly turned around, making one harsh turn to lock eyes with a familiar blonde. He stood in shock as Dimaria stared at him with cold, distasteful eyes to pierce his soul.
There an unrelenting silence that picked up between them. Natsu's shock was slowly calming when he recognized the woman from awhile back. His shocked eyes quelled and instead stared questionably at the Time Mage. "Wait, aren't you…?"
"Demon…" The venomous, cold tone Dimaria had was loud and clear for Natsu to hear.
He looked confused. "What? Demon?" He looked back at his friends, but they were still suspended. He faced Dimaria again.
"You monster…you have some nerve showing yourself here…with the very friend that I entrusted everything with." Dimaria's teeth gritted with anguish. "Just how can you go so low as to make Randi trust you of all sniveling creatures?"
This only served to confuse Natsu further. "What the heck are you saying? I'm not following."
"Don't play coy with me!" Dimaria snapped accusingly. "You know what I'm talking about…how else are you moving within 'my' time."
"Your time?"
"Yes…" She looked down. "Do you not understand…how it was to have a world where you alone ruled…to be invincible? To have everything to your control?" Her fists shuddered, her whole body starting to quiver. "And you Fiorians had to go and take everything away from me!" She faced Natsu with a sharpened glare. "Chronos left me…I was imprisoned…and my best friend…she chose the lot of you…the side that holds the monster that's you!"
"Monster?" Natsu's mind was beginning to pick up pieces. "Wait, you mean that one time I-"
"You…once E.N.D…even now you make me sick." Dimaria darkly sniped. "Even when others claim it, I can still see all that bitterness inside. That's why you're immune to my Age Seal, right? That has to be it."
It was a slow turn, but Natsu soon caught onto her delusions. Her problem was all too clear now. She was bitterly scarred from the unconventional terror he inflicted upon her back then, He made her suffer because of the demon that finally emerged; the one that hurt Nic out of his jealousy. But even if he did understand now, when he looked back at his friends standing behind right now, he knew why he was here. Once more, he faced her, an understanding but equally as determined look in his eyes. "…I'm sorry. I don't quite get why you're saying all this about me…but you're the one who hurt my friend. And your own." An image of Nic's scars flashed in his head for a moment. "…we both hurt people important to us, but I don't see why you should be hung up on something that wasn't your decision to make in the first place. But listen…" His fist enveloped in fire. "I can handle being called a monster by you guys, and I can take a blow or two for someone who can't stand up…but what I can't forgive…is how you're treating your friends and Pokémon. That makes me sicker than what you feel."
Dimaria's eyes shrunk when her anger spiked. What Natsu said plucked a dense chord in her mind. "How can something like you feel?"
Natsu held up his flaming fist. "Believe it or not, I actually have a heart. And it's telling me if I want to make sure we win, I'm gonna have to get rough…even against someone like you."
Dimaria shakily stepped back. Her need for revenge was starting to sway by the deep onyx eyes that seethed into her soul. She shook her head to get any thoughts digressing out. 'No. I can't back out of this now. I have to do this! I've prepared for this demon. I can do this, and take Randi back by force!'
Natsu took a foot into the ground, summoning fire that he used to spring himself forward. "I'll knock some sense into ya…THE HARD WAY!"
Dimaria pulled out a Poke Ball, which popped open as Natsu's Fire Dragon's Iron Fist jetted ahead.
The impact finally landed a mark and expelled horrendous blazes everywhere. His explosive fire power lived up to the name as the canvases and armor along the walls were either blown away or burned to charred crisps. The voluminous flames soon dissipated, Natsu holding his fist out and glaring ahead. He expected to hit her, but when the embers faded, he found his fist connected to the head of something warm, and admittedly fluffy.
"What…?" he gasped. Out of caution, he backflipped out of range and glared ahead. "Who's that?"
Dimaria's half-eyelids seared daggers. "…my weapon against you, demon."
The Pokémon she had out was a quadruped mammalian Pokémon with big dark blue eyes with a head crest of fluffy yellow fur in the shape of a waterdrop oddly. The orange fur covering the body twinkled before fading, and a mane of fluffy yellow fur was accompanied by an equally bushy tail. It leered at Natsu, empowered by his flames and fit for battle.
"So you got your own Pokémon now, huh?" Natsu figured.
"That's right, and this is my Pokémon, picked personally to thwart your evil. Meet Flareon."
Flareon spread her paws apart. "So you're the demon I was trained to defeat. Make no mistake, fiend, I will end your terror with my powers." She boasted.
"So you wanna go that route, huh?" Natsu questioned. "Sorry, but I'm not in the mood for this!" He took a large leap skywards, flipping until his flaming heel was above Flareon. "No hard feelings!" He brought his heel down, making another boisterous axe kick expel flames everywhere around him. For a second time, the air was explosive and cindered the walls. Natsu made sure it was direct this time, but when the embers cleared, he found Flareon staring up, unimpressed. "What?!" he exasperated.
Flareon flicked her head, getting Natsu to back off. She used the chance to use Tackle, charging into Natsu's gut and making him slide back a few feet. She landed, giving him a scowl.
"My Pokémon has an ability of its own." Dimaria said. "Its ability is something called 'Flash Fire'…which means anything of fire is ineffective, and empowers it instead."
Natsu gasped. "Wait, you serious?!" He looked at Flareon, seeing sprinkles of ember absorb into her fur.
"That's right, which means your fire will not work." Dimaria's glare hardened. "This time, I won't lose in my zone against you."
Natsu eyes narrowed as he glared back. He still wasn't fully aware of the concept of Pokémon, but he couldn't believe they included full nullification of attacks relating to his element. And to make matters worse, his attacks revolved around nothing but fire. 'Crap, looks like she's got me figured out then.' He reached for his own Poke Ball. 'Guess I've got no choice then…I'm just gonna have to fight fire with fire!' He brought his arm back. "Alright, you asked for it! Go, Charmander!"
The Poke Ball popped open, sending Charmander out to battle. "I'm ready! Let's kick some butt!" he shouted.
Flareon braced herself while Dimaria scoffed. "So you rely on these creatures too. Alright then, let's see how you handle my trained defense." Charmander readied as he looked back at Natsu.
'I gotta watch it. These guys might have some moves or something else.' He thought back to his battle against Max and lost due to poor commanding. 'Not falling for that again. Gotta see what I can do.' He reached forward. "Alright Charmander, use Growl!"
"Roger that!" Charmander took a deep breath and opened his mouth wide, expelling a large range of distorting soundwaves at Flareon. Her ears scrunched up as a blue aura enveloped her body, lowering her Attack.
Dimaria looked unimpressed. "Is that how you got here? We won't fall for that." This time she was the one who reached out. "Flareon, attack his monster with Ember!"
Doing as she said, Flareon took a big breath and her body temperature arose. She opened her mouth, expelling a harsh blanket of embers that surged into Charmander. The Lizard Pokémon covered up and was truck hard. It felt like painful stings against his body as he was pushed back, thudding hard on his back.
"Charmander!" Natsu gasped.
"I told you before. My Fire-type attacks are stronger now." Dimaria reminded. "Use them as much as you want, but nothing will work." Her eyes narrowed. "This is all for Randi, the one you sullied.
"Crap, this chick's really lost it." He looked down as Charmander staggered back up. "You good to go?" His Charmander gave a wavered nod. He faced forward. 'That means Ember and Flame Charge are out of the question…shit! We can't do much of anything!' This was Natsu's flaw. Revolving too much around fire. It was a simple recipe for his taste, but his taste buds are souring now thanks to his moral discomfort. He could only use Scratch and Growl now, and those don't do much. But this time around, he had to play it as safe as possible. "Alright, Growl!" Again, Charmander let loose distorted waves as he cried out. Flareon again felt her Attack fell as a blue aura enveloped her.
Dimaria reached again. "Ember!" Once more, Flareon expelled another harsh blanket that ran across the ground.
"Charmander, dodge it!" Natsu commanded. Charmander tucked and rolled off to the side, evading the blanket that went at Natsu as he covered up. The attack made sparks flare around him, but otherwise he was fine.
Charmander looked back. "Are you okay?!"
"Yeah, don't worry!" Natsu exclaimed. "Just use Growl again!"
Charmander was getting really concerned for what Natsu was having him do. But he had to be thinking of something. He chose to trust his judgement and opened his mouth again, expelling distorted waves that enveloped Flareon again, lowering her Attack again.
Dimaria's patience was starting to thin. She watched Natsu carefully with annoyance and growing frustration. "What are you doing?" she mocked. "Are you taking this seriously?"
Natsu held his ground. "Trust me, lady, nobody's taking this anymore serious than me right now."
"Then why won't you fight me?!" Dimaria snapped. "Are you afraid of using your power again, against me? Because you know I'll stop it?"
Natsu remained vigilant. "No, it's because I'm actually learning from my mistakes…unlike you!" He gave another command. "One more time, Charmander!"
Charmander did another Growl, expelling more soundwaves to lower Flareon's massive Attack. The opposing Fire-type ringed her head around and gave an annoyed shout as her ears twitched. "Gnnngh…are you trying to deafen me?!" she exclaimed.
Charmander ended his attack. "Depends, are you gonna can it?" he faced Natsu again. "We good?"
Natsu nodded. "Yeah, that should do it…now to give her what she asked for! Let's go, Charmander! Scratch!" Without hesitation, Charmander followed the command promptly and went charging at Flareon full on with a snarl.
Dimaria gave a gruff snort before she opted to stop Natsu. "You demon, I'll show you power…Flareon, Tackle!"
Flareon went charging across the ground towards Charmander. Both Fire-types raced with everything they had in their legs and gained momentum to strike. Once they were close enough, Flareon gave one last lunge while Charmander swung his claws. Both attacks met in the middle, making a small crack sound in the air. There was a stalemate between them for a short while, while either side struggling to push. But the breakage finally ceased, and it was Flareon who was pushed back with a yelp.
"What?!" Dimaria exclaimed. "But how?!"
Natsu showed a smirk. "Heh, guess watching those battles back then really did mean something." He thought to Lucy and Gray's battles, then to Joey and Dereece, and how they used status moves. "I gotta say, I'm not used to all these moves, but I know using these non-damaging moves helps my Pokémon…though it still feels weird using them rather than attack though." He chuckled.
Dimaria's eyes narrowed with her anger being mocked at. "Maybe…but you're still not fast enough! Flareon, Quick Attack!" Flareon recovered from her blow and faced Charmander. Her body was outlined in bright blue and spritzed into him in the blink of an eye, hitting him square in the chest and sending him on the floor again.
Charmander grunted, but he opened and eye and staggered back up. "Gnngh…is that all?" he mocked, startling Flareon. "Let's go, Natsu!"
Natsu smiled determinedly. "Hell yeah, now we're talking! Use Scratch!"
"YEAH!" Charmander raced into Flareon, jumping into midair and came down with a slash of his claws. Flareon staggered backwards and tried to shake off the pain, but Charmander slashed again, making her yelp. "We're not done yet!" He scratched the side again, making her falter. "That's for the others that you enslaved! And this one-" He used Scratch yet again, striking her. "Is for me!"
"Yeah! Now we're talking! Keep it up!"
"My pleasure!" With another huff, Charmander kept up the attack.
Dimaria watched in growing shock as she was seeing her only defense against Natsu lose ground. Her mind had already withdrawn from the battlefield and back into the crevice it came out from. 'What's going on here? This isn't the same monster I was facing…this…this is more controlled, and less angry. But why…this isn't…' She started to mentally break down to that horrifying image of Natsu moving within her time. It still left scorch marks where they still seared. "You're not…you're not…you can't be human!"
"What?" Natsu gasped.
Dimaria violently swiped her arm. "Flareon, Quick Attack!" Upon command, Flareon's eyes widened as Charmander's next claw came to strike. Her body was outlined and she started to zip and zag around Charmander, leaving him confused. With him startled, Charmander was brushed hard by Flareon passing from the left. With him stammering away, Flareon suddenly charged into his side again. He staggered towards the side, only to be intercepted by Flareon.
"Wha-?!"
"Ember!"
Flareon opened her maw and expelled a point-blank burst of smoldering embers. The sparks were like fireworks that sent Charmander flying through the air.
"Charmander!" Natsu exclaimed.
Charmander slammed into the ground hard, making dust dissipate. As he laid for a few precious moments, everything around him was fizzy. "Oh man, what just-OOF!" A pain went through his claws, coming from Flareon as she pinned him down. Struggle as he did, there was no success. "Gnngh…!"
"Charmander!" Natsu exclaimed.
"This isn't what I wanted." Dimaria snorted.
Natsu faced her. "Say what?"
"The monster I remember doesn't make such moves. He blew me away, and made the very people he called 'friends' get hurt…what makes you think you could be possibly different than what you were before? All I see is a demon who's afraid to use his power…and prove to me how he stopped Zeref." At her snap of fingers, Flareon applied more pressure on Charmander. "Show me, you monster…so I can save Randi from you once and for all."
He finally got it. Now he saw what she was after. She was afraid. Natsu gave her a serious frown. "…that guy you know, E.N.D, is dead."
"What?"
"…yeah, maybe I did lose control back then. I lost everything then and there, and I paid a price. I let my own hate consume me…" he raised his head. "But I'm not that same guy anymore. You may still think so, but I know what you're going through. You're just trying to take back something that you wanted all for yourself. You thought it was all yours until someone came along and took that from you…well let me tell you, that's only what brings hate!"
Dimaria was silent at Natsu talking her down. It was leaving her unsound to no end.
"I used to feel that way, too." Once again, Nic and Acnologia flooded his mind. "I wanted to believe that I was strong enough to save everyone, that I could be depended on, that I got so jealous of others and their power. I thought if I worked hard, I'd get to their level and above…but that only fueled my hate for them even more. And you know what happened? I never got what I wanted in the end…and I deserved that. Brandish wasn't the one to betray you, you did…because you fear me, right?"
Dimaria glared daggers. "What do you know…?"
"That's fine. Like someone once told me. You can hate me for as much as you want…but I'm who I think and choose to be…and E.N.D is dead because of him. And now I say I'm the human: Natsu Dragneel! Charmander…" The lizard struggling beneath Flareon's paw opened an eye, glaring at Flareon herself. "…let's kick their asses and prove who we really are! Ya with me?!"
"Gnngh…yeah! Just as soon as I get this thing off me!" He no longer struggled, instead opting to open his mouth, taking a deep breath.
"Forget it." Dimaria said. "Use Growl or a Fire-type attack, but we won't sit down while you…" her sentence was cut off as she saw Charmander's breathing creating a strange blue glow within his stomach region. As he kept inhaling, that energy swirled into a spiral that left even Flareon unsound. "What?" Dimaria snapped.
Natsu smirked. "Alright Charmander, show 'em who we are!"
"You got it!" Charmander mustered all the compressed power in his stomach and managed to upchuck it. His mouth glowed blue as he let out a roar. Flareon was so in shock she was swallowed in a black and blue dragon-shaped beam that sent her skywards. The beam carried her high until and flipped and crashed into the ground, right in front of Dimaria.
"Flareon!" Dimaria shrieked. She looked ahead, shock overwhelming as Charmander was up on his feet again, showing the scratches on his body. She saw the tail flame expand a little, an orange aura glowing around him. His Blaze Ability had activated.
Seeing Charmander huff out smoke, Natsu looked happy. "Whoa, Charmander! I didn't know you could do that!"
"Neither did I!" he replied. "…but how's that for a Dragon Rage."
"Dragon Rage?" Natsu repeated. "Oh, so cool! You learned another new move! Alright pal, let's finish this!"
Dimaria's eyes shrunk as her frustrations arose. She swiped her arm. "You won't get away with that! Flareon, Quick Attack!"
"GO DOWN YOU!" Once more, in a high-speed spritz, Flareon zoomed into Charmander, hitting him head-on. But this time, with very little perseverance left, Charmander held on. Those Growls paid off.
"Gnnngh…we're not…done with you either!" he roared. "NOW!"
"Right!" Natsu reached forward. "Charmander, end this! Dragon Rage!"
Charmander dug in his heels and gripped onto Flareon's face. "Open wide…" He surged blue energy into his stomach. He opened his mouth as a blue glow enveloped it. Flareon screamed in fright, as did Dimaria as Charmander gave a roar before exploding a gush of blue and black energy beam. It pulsated like an intense wave that hammered Flareon's face. Unable to hang on, the attack made a streak skywards, and then into the ground, making a powerful explosion excel in front of Dimaria.
She covered up to persevere the blue and black beam, soon to dissipate. As it did, she saw as the smoke cleared, Flareon was on her side, swirly eyed and unable to battle. "No!" she cried.
Natsu's body lit up. "Now listen!"
Dimaria looked up in horror.
"I am reckless, and maybe I don't think. But if I can say one thing about fear…" he jumped up, looking like a blazing comet. "Is that it won't hold me back anymore!" He pulled his fist up, creating a swirling fiery mesh that petrified her.
Horror filled Dimaria as she looked up. As the fire ignited the air, all she saw was a figment of a monster with venomous eyes seething into her. "No…stay back…you can't…NOOO!"
Natsu let out a draconic roar as he crashed his fist down in the ground in front of Dimaria. An intense explosion of fire erupted from below, cindering the ground in a gradually increasing wave that swallowed up Dimaria. The Time Mage shrieked in horror as the heated blast wave sent her doubling over constantly across the ground, until she slammed into the wall with a grand thud. As she laid on the ground, the smoke and flames dissipated, revealing Natsu as his scarf whisked in the wind he created. He glared at Dimaria's defeated figure with no words needed. He said what had to be said.
With her defeated, time returned to normal once more. Of course this also meant that the angle Lucy was at made her fall onto her butt. "AH!" she squealed.
"Woah, Lucy! What happened?" Happy exclaimed.
"Oww…" she whined, rubbing her bottom. "I don't know…wait, did my heel give out or something?" she looked ahead, her shock widening when she saw Natsu and Charmander. "Natsu!"
Hearing a familiar voice, the Dragon Slayer turned around and smiled. "Huh? Oh, hey guys! You're back to normal!"
Lucy's brow furrowed. "Back to normal? What?"
"What does that mean?" Happy questioned. "Wait, hold on, was he over there a minute ago?"
"Yeah, and where did Charmander come from?"
Brandish looked pass Natsu towards the culprit. Her eyes narrowed at Dimaria as she slouched against the wall, groaning. She knew what happened. "…Dimaria."
Lucy saw her as well. "Wait…Dimaria? Where did she come from?" She faced Natsu. "What happened?"
Natsu sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Hehe…well, it's kind of a long story…" he glanced at Dimaria. "…but what I know now is that we have one less Spriggan to work with, so that's good for us."
Happy sighed. "Typical Natsu."
Brandish walked up to Dimaria. She looked down at her friend with half-open eyes of displeasure as the Time Mage was barely conscious. The two locked eyes with one another, a cold, dense silence brewing as the air around them was so thick one could use a knife.
"Brandish…" Lucy saw how her friend was staring down at their foe.
Brandish shot a glance back. "…we don't have anything to worry about. You two, go."
"What? You mean like right now?!" Happy exclaimed.
"It'll be fine. She's not in any condition now to attack me…even she knows that." She glanced back to her again as she said that. "I have something to settle with her."
Lucy reached for her. "But, Brandish…" A hand reached for her shoulder, stopping her.
"Lucy." The blonde looked towards Natsu, seeing him frown at her in a tone. The way he looked made her know that this was something out of their hands. But she couldn't help but worry some more.
"Don't make me repeat myself again." Brandish insisted. "I'll catch up, now go."
Natsu nodded. "Gotcha. Let's go, guys." Without bothering to look back, Natsu took off down the hall.
"Wait up!" Happy followed behind, with Charmander being held by his paws. Lucy was the last one to go. But before she went, she looked over her shoulder at Brandish one last time. She chose to keep her disposition to herself and leave.
Now, Brandish and Dimaria were alone, leaving them to finally talk. "Dimaria." Brandish greeted.
Sulking sullenly, the Time Mage's eyes were covered by shadows. "…why?" she muttered. "Why would you do this, Randi?"
Brandish closed her eyes. "It wasn't personal. I didn't mean to hurt you."
"But you did…you chose them. You chose those householders of that thing. That monster…what do you see in them, Randi?" Her voice was breaking down to where it was hardly audible. She was cracking from the shuddering. "…just why?"
Brandish sighed again. She didn't expect her to understand the first time around, nor the time when she was exiled. But she knew this time, after being beaten by him personally, she had to understand. "…are you sure it's not you who's the monster here?"
Dimaria's eyes widened.
"You. Ajeel. Jacob…Emperor Neinhart. Honestly, you all are such a pain to begin with. We just followed the emperor's orders because it was an obligation…but really, that wasn't what made me realize our flaws. No, what I saw…was through another way."
"Another…way?"
Brandish turned her back. "Honestly, Dimaria, you were a really big pain yourself. Sometimes I just couldn't deal with you. I could leave you to die here, or perhaps I can shrink your heart to where your vessels pop. While I could and would've, I've learned something from those misfits when I was captured. Something you and this corrupted place needs…"
"W-what is it? Please, tell me!"
She looked over her shoulder. "Empathy."
"Empathy?"
"I once hated Lucy Heartfilia before. She was the reason that I believed to be my mother's grave. I hated extremely…but then I realized the truth. When you try to be open to someone…you begin to open back, but only if you are willing. You remind of that vulnerable position I was once in. When I lost hope…I was given kindness. When I gave hate, they give care for my sake…that was the empathy I was shown. The empathy you have for that boy, he needs it, more than you. As an enemy, can you try to give what others offer you?"
The Time Mage looked down, processing everything her former colleague said. But she still seemed crestfallen. "…so you're saying I should be empathetic towards that monster? Just how low have you gotten?"
"Low enough to know I still see that you still care." She stepped forward. "So, Dimaria…since I'm trying empathy, would you rather try?" her eyelids lowered again, a grim look showing. "Or do you want this over with the old-fashioned way?"
Dimaria finally had nowhere to go. Her only defense against Natsu was defeated, and she failed to learn that he's not the same as before. She lost everything…just like Brandish did. With nothing else, her eyes began to water and faced her friend with tears streaming down her cheeks. "Randi…I'm so lost…" she whimpered. "Please…help me…help me understand"
Brandish knelt down, embracing Dimaria as Lucy embraced her back then. She cradled her friend tight, letting her anguish pour out as she muffled cries into her coat.
Jacob fired more invisible knives at Sophie and Griffon, but the latter spread his fingers to create another barrier of wire that stopped the knife. As it ricocheted, he used a loose wore and wrapped it around the base of the knife now visible. He whipped his arm and shot it back at Jacob, who easily leaned right to avoid the head blow.
"You missed." He mocked.
Griffon pulled back. "Don't be so sure!"
Catching his warning, Jacob saw the glimmer of the wire and looked back. But it was too late. His knife came whirling back, cutting the side of his face and leaving blood scraped. The knife went back to Griffon, and he caught it just as Sophie jumped over his head and landed in front.
"Memory-Make: Charge Blades!"
Once her hands pressed against the ground, the ground rumbled with tremendous force. In a matter of second, crackling electricity surged as precipice slates tipped with lightning went in a linear fashion towards Jacob. The Stealth Mage recovered fast enough to jump out of the way of her attack and roll over. He zipped again just as more shard shot from beneath. He barely evaded another one by jumping into the air.
Grunting as the lack of close combat, he pulled out a gun while in midair, unleashing invisible shots down towards her. She jumped back to narrowly avoid a shot to her ankles. As Jacob landed on a safe part of the ground, he vanished once more.
"He's invisible again." Sophie stated.
Griffon tugged on his own fingers. "Not for long…" With each twitch of his fingers, he made outlines of wire reveal themselves. It created a massive hashed net across the ground. "Let's see where he's hiding…" he saw one wire vibrate. Immediately he pulled. "Mamba Net!" He yanked hard on the chords of wire laced to the ground. The netting picked up at Jacob's heels and he found himself falling over.
"What the-AH!" He fumbled backwards, hitting the net.
Griffon didn't stop there. He whipped his arms up and slammed them against the ground. The wires he pulled created a wave that went at Jacob, picking up the net and sending Jacob doubling over. He rolled over, soon stopping to find that he was laced within a layer of wire, trapped. He couldn't believe his luck.
"Not so tough now, are ya?" Griffon mocked. "You may think you can play around with us because you know the place, but we've got more than a few tricks to keep you occupied. You can't cut those strings so easily, and you can't move. Now then…" He slowly gripped his twitching fingers, tightening the netting around Jacob. "Exactly why do you kill?"
Jacob's veins showed on his brow as he glared at Griffon. "Gnnngh…why use such a tone against me-AH!" He felt the netting cut into his skin.
"Tell me!" Griffon snapped. "Exactly why do you kill?"
There was a humble silence looming in the air around them. Sophie offered nothing to say in hopes that answers would come her way. Jacob merely glared at Griffon back, showing a painful annoyance. The longer he waited, the tighter Griffon's netting was getting. He was running out of time.
But he had a plan. He glared at Griffon with vulgar eyes showing. "…you really are demanding, aren't you boy?" he winced. "Why I kill? Because…it's for the sake and duty of my empire. The enemies that have dared to defy us, they are given no sympathy for making fun of our proud country…and I'll make sure those who do not pay their respects know of this."
Griffon shot him a look. "Is that so? Well hate to break it to ya, but I don't find any pride in killing for the sake of someone else. If you ask me, it's either kill or be killed…but that's just me."
"…then perhaps you should learn a thing or two of respect first."
"What's that mean?"
Sophie gasped. "Wait…Ma (What)?!" she shrieked.
Griffon looked over. "What is it-!" Immediately his eyes widened, and his mouth became a triangle. He stared in shock before staggering some as he was witnessing a very bizarre disappearing act by Sophie. Slowly, her own clothing was fading, barely giving glimpses of the undergarments she was wearing. "GAH! W-what the hell?!"
Sophie immediately scrunched up her thick thighs and covered her ample buxom. Her cheeks became a bright pink as she looked down in shock. "What is going on here?!" she shrieked.
Griffon's calmness slowly came over as he began processing. 'Wait, this isn't her doing. Can his magic….actually affect more than just his own weapons?'
With the skimpy distraction, Jacob moved his wrist and gave the net a sharp cut through. He immediately disappeared from view, heading elsewhere.
Sophie took notice and looked towards Griffon. "Look out!"
"Huh-?!" Griffon suddenly felt a force knock him in the gut. As shock flourished, he didn't have time to process the invisible stamp to the face, with many more harsh blows knocking him around. Another blow to the chin, and knocked about, and he found an intense weight elbowing the base of his spine. Blood spilled from his mouth as he fell forward, thudding harshly. "D-Damn…" He strained to get up, but he found it hard with the bones that were bruised. Jacob reappeared over him, pinning him against the ground.
"Griffon!" Sophie went to move, but she realized the breezes. She was too in shock to move out of exposure.
As Griffon strained, Jacob leaned into his hear. "How's it feel? To have a living hell right before you?" He gripped and weighed him down tighter. "To bear witness to someone with no dignity right before you."
Griffon looked back at Sophie, blinking. He could see what he meant, but when he got a really good look at her, he had to admit her hourglass-like figure was very interesting. "…remind me again how this is hell?"
"Gnnngh…must I spell it out for you, brat?!" He pressed harder, making it so that Griffon can't move his head. "Are you not flustered or embarrassed? A female is right before you! Are you not deterred about this?!"
Griffon smirked confidently. "Well actually, now that I look at her…she doesn't have too bad of curves."
Sophie glared. "I don't know if I'm supposed to be insulted or thankful of that…" She looked back at Jacob, her own eyes scrunching. "What…?"
"Have you no shame?!" Jacob snapped. "A man like must avert his eyes or something!" But that was the thing. Griffon wasn't the one closing his eyes and looking away. No. It was Jacob. And it looked like he was having something sour. Griffon glanced up to find that he wasn't looking. "Even I – a dignified and proper man – cannot bring himself to look! This technique makes those who are my victim suffer.
Griffon looked back at Sophie, seeing as how she was more or less flustered. If anything, it looked like she was suffering. And while he enjoyed the view extremely so, he knew it had to be serious. Using his free arm Jacob couldn't grab onto, he fiddled his finger.
"W-well! Are you suffering?!" Jacob sniped, unable to look.
Griffon smirked again. "It's funny you ask that." His fingers started to slowly close, tightening Jacob's sleeve. "I could ask you the same thing…thanks for the eye candy, dignified prick!"
"Wha-?!"
GWOOSH!
Griffon yanked his arm off to the side in a harsh swipe, dragging very tight wires that flung off…but that wasn't the only thing that flung off. Those wires were laced around Jacob's left arm. And with them too tight, blood spilled off to the side as the whole forearm…was completely ripped off.
Jacob felt a shock at first, but he then saw his arm plop like a dead fish off to the side. When he looked down, he saw his upper arm bleeding profusely. He shuddered before all the pain flourished, making him get up and scream in violent agony.
"Now!" Griffon shouted.
"Right!" With Jacob's magic wearing off, her clothes returned to normal and prepared a counterattack. "Memory-Make: Mirrors of Cold Retribution!" She summoned ice mirror around Jacob, making no waste as dark green beams fired at all angles, swallowing him in a grizzly blast wave that sent him soaring and fall to the ground. Sophie reconvened with Griffon as the two watched Jacob stir again.
"Was that your talk of a living hell?" Griffon mocked.
Jacob clutched what was left of his arm, restraining what pain he was feeling while glaring ferociously at Griffon.
"If you were serious about killing me, you should've done it the second you got out of that net. Should've stabbed me or shoot me when you had the chance. When you're seriously killing, don't take chances…it gets the job done quicker…but thanks for the eye candy anyway." Sophie shot him a look, but all he did was snicker. She just sighed and flourished with humility.
Jacob was flourishing in outrage. He glared daggers as his entire face was dark. Veins covered the whole forehead as he leered at Griffon intensely "You…used my own dignity…against me~?!" he growled angrily. "You…you…you truly have no shame."
"Shame's got nothing to do with it." He retorted. "I don't care if it's boy or girl…we're all just human beings just trying to survive in a world where people with power exercise it the wrong way. Those kinds, like you and this empire, it sickens me."
Jacob's boiling point was reached. Not only was he foiled for his own dignity, but his opponent took a piece of him that he needed. A necessity for killing, and it was ripped from him without a second thought. He wanted to scoff so much more…but Griffon's points finally broke him. If he wanted him dead, he had to be serious, starting now. "Very well then…" he slowly got back up, squaring against Griffon personally. "If you want this to end that quickly, the so be it…I shall hide your corpse from this world, to erase what you have done." He raised his palm up towards Griffon. "Bon voyage…assassin."
"Watch out!" Sophie tried to warn her associate, but a powerful array of light expelled everywhere. She had to cover up as Griffon was beginning to erode from the ground up, his body going limp as he saw his body vanish.
Griffon screamed loudly as he started to erode away, the light taking him away.
"Begone…and die in the pocket that is my space where corpses cease to exist." Jacob looked anxiously as he watched the foe vanish, but he felt a tug on his last arm. "Wha…?!" He looked over, gasping as he saw threads wrapped around the hand. "What the-?! NO!"
The wires trace back to Griffon, who held them tight in his hands. "If I'm going down…then I'm taking you with me!" he screamed as he vanished.
"THE HELL I AM!" Jacob screamed in remorse as his body also began to vanish with Griffon's. The wires kept them together, both disappearing in a powerful bright flash, before it all reduced to nothing.
Sophie soon uncovered, seeing with her green eyes that Griffon and Jacob were gone. She looked forward, shock running through her veins. "Griffon…? Griffon…?" No answer. "…oh no."
…
In a blank space of barely any cosmos, two flashes of light came into view. They were Jacob and Griffon as both reappeared. "No…" Jacob looked around, realizing he was in a space where many of his victims died. "No, no, no!"
"Funny, isn't it?" Griffon questioned. "To think that you – of all people – would have your own trump card used against you. Well I gotta say, it's hard to breath here…but if you want me to have slow and suffering, then it's fair you suffer the same way. That's the price we pay if we live too long ya know!"
Jacob glared at Griffon with endless veins spouting. "You brat…" With his right arm still intact, he shakily pulled out his gun, still visible. "I'll make you suffer!"
Griffon gritted his teeth. He could barely move in this space. It was impossible. He could feel his Magic Power slowly decline further as he stayed in here. While he couldn't move at all, he looked at Jacob, realizing he could still move. His green eyes showed shock.
Jacob smirked as he cocked his gun.
BANG!
A close-range gunshot was fired. The bullet was so loud it echoed through the pockets of space. Everything was slowing down and white around Griffon as shock was written on his face. The bullet went straight through his chest, impaling and going out the back. His coat and shirt were dowsed in red, his breath leaving his body.
Jacob's smirk widened as he saw Griffon taking the chest bullet. His body leaned back as it seemed like he was dying. It made him happy. "…suppose one more will do it."
With bangs covering his eyes, Griffon was motionless. The only thing he could move was his fingers. He twitched one, and that's what did him in.
Jacob was ready to fire again. "Now…!" Suddenly a sharp pain like a stab went through him. "AH! What-?!" He looked over, seeing the wires still connecting them from before now under the tuxedo. His body shuddered as he let odd, cold strings work through the veins. "No…what are doing…?!" he strained, uneasiness flowing inside his muscles.
"…I told you…" Griffon coughed. "…If I'm making my peace…it's gonna be taking pleasure in taking down guys like you who hold obligation to corruption! *cough*"
Jacob screamed at the loudest point possible. He couldn't accept this, no way! He aimed his gun with the last bullet, poised to end this…just as Griffon pulled.
"Surgeon Strangle!"
BANG!
The bullet fired, hitting Griffon once more. He gagged just as his fingers pulled, the threads inside Jacob finally tightening. The threads wrapped around his heart finally tightened, crushing his heart into a bloody mess. Jacob gagged heaping mounds of blood as his own world had come to an end. Like Griffon, he also fell backwards slowly within space.
Both assassins laid motionless in space for a few moments, before a bright light slowly took the two in.
…
Sophie stood in place until a light flashed in front of her. When she uncovered from shock, she gasped as she saw Griffon and Jacob reappearing in midair, both suspended like time slowed down between them. At the same time, both fell limply onto their backs.
"Griffon!" Sophie screamed as she hurried over. She overlooked Griffon's body with wide eyes, seeing the two bloody spots on his body. She looked horrified at the two bullet holes he sustained, but more so as she looked over at Jacob.
He had his head to the side, blood seeping out of his mouth like a river. And by the way his chest wasn't rising, there's no question that she had to knew. He was dead.
She looked down at Griffon again. "Griffon? Can you hear me? Griffon?!" She bent down to his chest. To her shock, she was hardly getting a beat. "Barely a pulse…" she muttered. She hovered over him and knew she had to hurry. "Uh…s-stay still!" Using her Memory-Make, she tried a spell. 'It's been a while since I used this spell. I hope it works…' She put her hands together, creating a sparkling green glow that evolved to a blob of water from thin air, which of course sparkled. "Memory-Make: Seabed's Miracle!" She placed her hands and turquoise water onto the two bullet areas. Immediately, the water glowed as it applied healing powers into the wounds. Some water seeped into the crevices of said wounds, fixing them from the inside. "C'mon…" she prayed quietly. "C'mon…"
The spell stayed on Griffon as he laid motionless for a few moments. It looked like he wasn't making it. Sophie began to feel regret what happened. Suddenly a sharp gasp came from Griffon, surprising the blonde. He began to cough a mixture of blood and water, getting his lungs fixed with oxygen.
"Griffon!" Sophie gasped.
The Wire Mage grunted as he laid in pain. "Gnnngh…ow…*cough cough* Wait…am I…?" he looked up, seeing Sophie healing him. "…Sophie…"
"Stay still." She insisted before she winced. The drawbacks of her spell was making her head throb. 'Gngh! I forgot that this spell gives me a headache.' She looked over, silence looming as she stared at Jacob's corpse. "Is he…?"
"…yeah. It's over." He muttered.
"I see." Sophie held her head down as another uncomfortable silence came over them. She resumed healing him without any need to talk.
Griffon laid on the ground as his insides were being healed slowly. It didn't feel like vitals were shot, so he was okay. But he still felt weak. He stared up at the ceiling, looking with remorse. "…you asked why I joined the Peace Jaegers, right?"
Sophie glanced at him in silence.
"When I was still a boy, I think I was in my bed early. It was a long day. I didn't hear any noises too well because my door was, but on the floorboards I heard some screaming." He began to recount that painful night. The light that scarred him for life. "You see, my parents and family, we were of high bureaucracy…but because of a small prison break of a very skilled killer forced us to localize ourselves. We made do, at least for a few months…but he found us. And you know what he did?" his brow furrowed at the painful memory. He recalled running downstairs to seeing a graphic sight of stabbing, and wailing everywhere. It was a bloody sight for his virgin eyes of a child. He even recalled how the tall dark silhouette turned and saw him, holding a knife. "…that sick bastard murdered them all."
Sophie had another gasp escape.
"…all my relatives and friends gathered to talk about political stuff. I was too young so I went to bed…but I woke up and saw them all killed…even my own mom when she shielded me…I only survived because I hid under her corpse." His eyes closed as he had the strength to breathe easily now. "I lost everything. My house burnt down. My family was dead…and that assassin got his revenge. Now, it was my turn. I spent my whole childhood chasing after him, trying to find ways to kill him…and I guess you can say I got carried away…because I killed everyone who stood in my way. Everyone."
Sophie's eyes shrunk to peas as she listened to the revenge story. To feel pain and revenge that string…to learn magic to try and kill. What a cruel world it was.
"Ambushes…sneak attacks…just name it, but my Wire Magic was mastered for trapping and killing alone…the body count kept rising, until it took me until 3 years ago that I found the guy. He and I squared off. I nearly lost my head...he lost it all. Then after I finally got my revenge…I found myself bleeding alone. I was in the woods dying, and I couldn't find anymore reason to live now that it was over…"
Sophie looked away, realization rising. "…and that's when you met Orion?"
Griffon smirked. "Nothing gets passed you. Yeah. The guy and his guild took me in. Even after learning the deaths I counted, all of them, no matter what, they resigned to finding their peace before they die. I'm trying to find mine…by ending as much suffering others are feeling from those who don't care. Nobles, even aristocrats; if they leave people to die and angry, I resigned to not have them turn into someone like me. I'm their avenger…until my time comes."
Sophie didn't know what to say. She heard that Kagura's life was much of revenge against Jellal, but now they're allies. She didn't know what to say for Griffon or how to offer sympathy. All she knew was that he once killed to get to one man…but that was then. He fulfilled that purpose and now lives to kill those with abusive power. She didn't know if she was to condone that or not. She never killed before, but she's seen death close to her, especially a certain Celestial Spirit. So in a way, she knew where Griffon was going with this.
"I know that when I die, I'll see all the faces of the people I've taken to their graves." Griffon said somberly. "…but that's the price I've paid. But I'll see them again, but as someone who took lives deserving of hell."
Sophie lowered her head, a small but empathetic smile crossing her face. "…and you found your peace?"
Griffon nodded. "Yeah. I did."
Sophie nodded. "Tov (Good), then stay alive…for their sake."
Griffon flashed her a wink. "No promises."
As he was healed up, Sophie undid the spell and he slouched up. "Hey, guys!" Down the hall, they both turned to find Natsu, Lucy, and Happy all gathered. They all regrouped, finally together again.
"You guys okay?" Happy worried.
Sophie nodded. "A-ni be-se-der (I'm fine). How are you guys?"
"We're fine, thanks." Lucy said. She looked over, her eyes widening as she saw the dead Jacob on the floor. "Wait, is that…?"
Natsu took a whiff of the air. He looked over and stared Griffon coldly. The Wire Mage shrugged like he didn't care. He knew what happened.
Sophie stepped in. "It's fine. It's what had to be done."
Lucy looked worried. "But Sophie…"
"She's right." Griffon said. "We've gotta stop this sick place from its corrupted power. No matter what, we're paid to help you guys whatever we can."
Lucy looked discomforted. "…okay."
Sophie managed a small comforting smile. "We should get going now. The others might be around somewhere."
"Right." Everyone agreed.
In another part of the prestige palace, Lector flew out of a dark part of the castle, looking down at the two gathered.
"See anything, pal?" Sting shouted.
Lector shook his head. "Nope. Nothing. I can't find others in this direction either.
Sting rubbed the back of his head and sighed. "Great. Well this is just what we need. All separated, and my nose isn't picking up anyone." He turned around. "Hey, you. Found anything yet?"
Sting wasn't alone. Orion stood beside him with arms folded and looking at his surroundings. He remained quiet as he concentrated. "…nothing that you can sense. It's just a lot of malice around here."
"Well this bites." Sting groaned. He straightened back up to think. "But maybe the others must have realized and maybe locked together somewhere."
"That's an accurate assumption in my books." Orion noted. "This castle is rather large, so the odds of that are still rather slim." He folded his arms. "But there's still no guarantee that all of us were spread too thin either."
"Then there's still hope!" Lector chimed.
Sting chuckled. "Yeah. Well, the others and Natsu are freaking strong. Maybe we're just overthinking it."
"Perhaps so." Orion countered. "But don't forget. We're still in the enemy's heart. There's no guarantee we're safe either." Just as he finished saying that, he picked up on something. He turned towards the direction.
"What is it?" Sting asked.
Orion said nothing as he glared forward. His Devil Slayer powers were telling him that there was a lot of pain he felt. His eyes sharpened in disgust. "…you feel that?"
"No…" Sting smelled the air, which was different from before. His hair picked up in disgust. "Wait, that smell…"
"What's wrong, buddy?" Lector asked.
"I don't know…but something's wrong." Sting smelled the air again, and it was worse. There was no mistaking it. The smell of something that always made someone gag. Blood. The very liquid that enflamed his nasal cavities made him get his guard up as he heard groaning from afar. "Looks like we're not alone after all." He said.
"So it seems." Orion took a readied stance. "On your guard!"
"Right!"
Both held their positions firmly as they watched the shadows shift. From inside, they could hear low groans coming from so many people. Silhouettes began to move until they drew closer, revealing Alvarez soldiers slumping forward to attack. But something was up. They looked tired, like they rolled out of bed.
"Here they come." Sting said.
"Yeah." Lector said. "But…something seems wrong with those guys."
Sting looked confused as he looked at them. "Yeah, I get what you're saying. They smell strange."
Orion stepped forward. "Forget that. We don't have time to worry."
Sting refocused. "You're right. C'mon, let's nail these guys!"
As the guys began to pick up speeds and raise their swords, Sting and Orion waited until the right time to attack. Orion went first, jumping into the air with a dark-coated fist. He drove it into the ground, creating a powerful blast wave that sent the first row flying all over the place. Sting took up the reinforcements as he passed Orion and knee a guy in the face. He flipped off his face and landed on all fours, immediately surrounded by soldiers. They all converged on him and he countered by swinging his legs coated in light, knocking so many away. Orion ran forward with his turn and used his fist to drive into another man's face, immediately flooring him. When another soldier swung his sword, Orion sidestepped, then again to avoid a second one. When the third sword swung, he caught the wrist of the perpetrator and overhead threw him into the two soldiers from before.
As another soldier came up from behind, Orion still had his back turned. He didn't seem bothered as Sting suddenly appeared and socked the guy's side. "I gotcha!" he exclaimed. "Yeah, keep 'em coming!"
As a large group of soldiers came his way, Sting readied himself as he took in a large breath.
"White Dragon's Roar!"
He opened his mouth, expelling a bright laser that shot across the ground, striking down the guys that headed his way. They all screamed as they flew over the place like bowling pins, while Orion handled the close combat with deadly precision. He elbowed a soldier's gut, falling him over, and used his falling body as leverage to do a handstand on the soldiers and fling off in time to avoid an axe. Orion landed on the ground and looked around, finding him being the one surrounded now.
Knowing what to do, he coated his right fist in dark energy and faced the ground. "Dark Devil's Rampart Wave!" He punched the ground, creating a voluminous shockwave of darkness that sprouted from the ground. All around him and expanding further, the energy swallowed the many soldiers, causing much more to be sent flying backwards.
Orion pulled his fist up, glaring. Sting looked over at him with amusement. "Showoff." He smugly said before facing the group ahead and slammed his fist into the ground, creating a wave if light that shot into them.
"Yeah! Take 'em down, guys!" Lector cheered. "You guys are doing great!"
Sting and Orion found themselves back to back as they looked at the many injured soldiers. They lazily got up again, even when they were unconscious. This didn't go unnoticed by Sting. "Looks like they want some more." He said.
Orion watched carefully as he inspected one soldier who was already defeated. "…no. Something's definitely wrong here." He saw how they all got up again, with most having white in their eyes. "This isn't normal. I'm not sensing their wills anywhere inside."
"What? You're saying something else is driving them?" Sting asked.
"Possibly. Look out!"
Sting faced forward as one soldier raised his sword to attack, which Sting braced for. However, before the sword could hit, a low, sinister snarl came from the echoing shadows. It halted everything. The half-dead soldiers all stopped and turned towards the sound with the attackers. It fell silent again, and a moment later the grotesque noise reverberated.
"What's that?" Sting questioned. Suddenly he turned as he saw a soldier quivering. He and many more were beginning to shudder as their chattering teeth began to open. It left him confused further. "What the-?!"
Suddenly, as if unable to hold it in anymore, the soldier's gaping mouth expelled a thin stream of red liquid that coursed through the air. All their eyes widened as they watched more soldiers all around repeat the process and streams of their blood went rushing out of their mouth. They gagged endlessly as all the streams coursed like a network into the shadows.
Orion, Sting, and Lector all said nothing as they felt uncomfortable. They all saw the many bodies go limp until just enough blood was sucked out, leaving them to fall over dead. All around, the short streams ended, leaving all the bodies to fall over to expire.
"The hell is…?" Sting trailed off as he watched the blood all stream into the shadows. He and the others tensed up as they could feel a voluminous Magic Power from inside. He gulped. "Guys."
Lector shuddered. "W-what just…?"
"…their blood is being siphoned." Orion deduced. "I think we might find out whom."
There was a looming silence that coursed through the air, like the silence at night when one is alone. It was like hell was ready to pounce from behind. They all remained ready as they heard a raspy sigh in the darkness. Slowly, and grisly, they saw a boot step out…and then another. They saw someone with a lot of bandages and armor on his body walking like a zombie out into the open, and his breathing – let alone power – was what made them feel a shiver run down their spines.
They all observed carefully, and Sting started. "Who're-"
The zombie-like human looked up, his bloodthirsty eyes piercing into their souls with an equally bloodcurdling aura resonating from his open mouth, trickling blood. He smiled wide as he looked at his new victims.
Sting stepped back, completely unsound. "Okay, I don't like the looks this guy has…"
"Yeah…" Lector muttered.
Orion held his ground, glaring at Sindge as he made his debut. He frowned in seriousness, undeterred by his grisly appearance and poised heart.
"I…smell blood." He darkly said, holding up a knife. "Fresh blood."
Aniya's visors rippled images of Lia's eyes. The pattern she was giving off only made the woman frown in annoyance. But the others weren't so fortunate.
"Wha…what…?" Wendy's eyes began to slowly copy the hypnotic patterns of Lia's eyes. Her whole world was seeing nothing but rainbow patterns distorting.
"I…can't feel…" Carla was also falling victim. Even with so much composure, her stubborn mind was beginning to copy the hypnotic pattern. Kinana's eyes were also copying this strange look. And Erik's one eye was straining as he tried to cover it, but even he was suffering a headache.
"That's right~. Just relax." Lia said, slowly moving closer. "I'm not here to hurt you. I'm just curious just who might my guests be. I'm sure you've all had a lot of stress the way here. Let's take this time to-"
Aniya aimed her pistol at her, pulling the trigger to fire a projectile magic beam that made Lia close her eyes and veer away. The blast went towards the palace, hitting the top of the door. "No way, lady." She snorted.
Lia shook her head, looking whimsically upset. "Hey~, what was that for?"
With her eyes not working, the hypnotic trance ended. Wendy and the others blinked and tried to catch her breath. "Oh…wait, what just happened…?" Wendy questioned. "My head feels so…?"
Aniya cocked her rifle again. "Everyone, don't into her eyes! She's trying to trick you!"
"Oh, that's just cruel." Lia pouted. "How did I trick you? I didn't even tell any lies yet."
Carla was on her guard. "So her magic is Hypnosis?"
"Looks like it." Wendy said.
"Tch, well isn't that annoying." Erik chimed. "Well, looks like we've gotta go blind then."
"But how come Aniya was fine?" Kinana questioned. She looked at Aniya, seeing her fixed with the visors she always wears on her face. 'Wait, those glasses she wears. Are they immune to Eye Magic?'
Lia looked down at Aniya, a smirk crossing her face. "Oh look at you. So strong and brave. And quite a cute face while you're at it, too!" she squealed. "Now if only we saw what kind of eyes you have…"
Aniya snickered. "Hm, sorry chick, no dice." She cocked again before shooting another unconventional projectile beam. As it traveled, Lia's brow furrowed.
She sighed. "Another one of those kind, huh? Phooey." She looked serious. "Oh well, we can always have fun other ways." Before the attack struck her, she remained still as her eyes glanced away. Suddenly the projectile followed, making a sharp turn out and continuing into the open air, exploding to nothing.
Kinana gasped. "What happened?!"
"She deflected it. And only with a single glance." Carla said, eyes narrowing. "I that a kinesis kind of magic?"
Aniya held her ground as Lia looked unfazed. "Got any other goodies you wanna show me?"
She smirked. "Thought you'd never ask." She requipped her rifle, making it onto a large cannon-like structure on her shoulder. She knelt forward and aimed with a smile. "Alright…let it rip!" Without hesitation, the cannon fired, unleashing a streaming missile of great proportions at Lia.
Lia yawned lazily as the attack headed her way, and yet as she yawned, the missile phased through her miraculously. Like a ghost. Aniya gasped in shock with everyone as the missile continued its path to the ground afar, creating another blazing explosion that picked up rocks and cement compounds. All while Lia just smiled.
"Phasing Magic?" Wendy whispered.
"What's this about?" Erik questioned. "This chick is starting to look freaky for my liking." He looked towards the others. "Got a way to flush her out?"
Aniya smirked again. "Hm! Too easy!" She requipped again, this time revealing a slimmer version of the cannon, and instead it stood up by itself on a stand. "This little beauty isn't like before. Its missiles are able to detect spectral energy. So good luck phasing again."
Lia shrugged. "Okay. Thanks for the advice." She chuckled.
"We'll see who's laughing after this!" Aniya puled the trigger, sending another missile ahead, only this one was intertwined with green and black coloring instead of red and white.
"Alright…" Wendy took in a quick, sharp breath as whirlwinds gathered around her. "Sky Dragon's Roar!"
Erik's arms secreted black and red poison and swiped them in a cross. "Poison Dragon's Twin Fang!"
Wendy's whirlwind blast surged across the land, with Erik's two poisonous fang waves intertwining. The two fused attacks followed behind the missile's path, streaming into Lia as she remained still. With not even a hum, the three attack created a green, white, and poisonous explosive wave that went up in a pillar towards the sky. All around, winds pulsated as the other held their ground. As the smoke and debris dissipated, it showed that in Lia's spot was a crater and cindered cement caved in.
Aniya smugly smirked. "See? Not even souls can get pass my Spectral Missile. Works like a charm."
"Charm is right."
Aniya gasped at the sound. In shock, he faced the sky, everybody did. They looked up and saw that Lia was in the sky, oddly upside-down; even her massively long skirt was sticking to the air. "Impossible!" she gasped.
"How did she get up there?" Kinana questioned. "Another type of magic?"
"Mmm, you can say that." Lia chimed. "All I really did was just solidify air particles and stuck to them. It's a web but with no stickiness." Her eyes narrowed as her smirk widened down on Kinana and her upper body. "And you know…you all look much nicer from this angle."
Kinana felt disturbed with what she said, especially with how she was looking right at her when she said that. Fortunately for Erik was sliding in front to rescue. "Erik!"
"Look lady, we don't know what you want, but you're serious up about messing with us…then watch yourself." He glared at her in warning. "Unless you wanna die so soon."
"My, my. What a deadly glare that is. You're gonna give me shivers!" Lia literally shriveled in the air while still upside down. "But if you insist. I suppose it's in my best interest to show you what I can do." She reached out to her foes, making them feel an odd force beneath their feet push them up towards her level in midair.
"What now?! Gravity?!" Erik exclaimed.
Lia smirked before she took a sharp breath before gushing out, expelling a clay-like substance that rushed at everyone. In no time, Wendy and the others were covered and immediately sunk back to the ground, laying in the dense material that held onto them. They each were in clumps of clay that immobilized them.
"Eww…what is this…?" Wendy tried moving her head, but she couldn't even move her wrists. She strained further, but with no luck.
"In this a paralysis magic?" Carla tried moving her arm up from the trap she laid in, but as expected, no luck.
As everyone laid helpless, Lia teleported from the air back to the ground. She overlooked everyone with a lustful smile showing. "There, is everybody cozy?" she chimed. "Good. Let's try this again, shall we?" Once more, she slowly showed the many multiple colors of her eyes as they began to hypnotize them again.
Wendy's brow furrowed as she had to break free. "Not today." Using her magic, the Sky Dragon let out a yell as her body expelled a voluminous cyclone of wind, ripping apart and blowing off clay that covered everyone. The moist, heavy clay was blown off everyone while Lia had to cover up from the winds.
The Alvarez Spriggan grunted as clay passed her and winds receded. When she looked back, she saw the others were free, but Wendy and Carla were nowhere to be seen. She looked up, finding Carla having sprouted her wings and carrying Wendy up.
"Now! Carla!"
"Okay!" Carla let go of Wendy, allowing her to fall down and get above Lia. With the woman on defense, whirlwinds surrounded Wendy's arms and she unleashed them. "Sky Dragon's Wing Attack!" She lashed them out, making two turbulences swallow up Lia as she used her arms to cover up.
With the distraction acquired, the whirlwinds disappeared, revealing Carla and Wendy coming down with two kicks. They swung down hard, but gain Lia reached for them and stopped them in midair with an invisible force. They were mere feet from her when she stopped them.
"Not bad. A little testy aren't we?" she said a little challenged.
With the two being used as bait, Lia was unaware that on the ground, another cannon was open. This one was handheld, and Aniya smirked as she used a lock-on sequence to aim right for the belly. "There we go…nice and steady…" Once targeted, she reached for the lever to unleash the miniature missile. "Thank you guys. Now…try a little compressed missile action!"
Lia looked at her. "Huh?"
"Take…THIS!" Aniya pulled the lever, immediately creating a shockwave as a streaming smaller and sharper missile shot across the ground at Lia. It twirled its fins briefly before it picked up speed. Aniya smirked. 'There's no way she'll be able to use two magics at the same time. She'll have to do something to stop the missile, but then she'll be open for them to attack from above. But as to where she focuses on them, she's wide open. It's a win-win.'
The missile closed in at an alarming rate, Lia's eyes widening as her heartrate suddenly jumped. Everyone watched it close in. It was going to hit.
BWHIP!
The missile hit something, but it made them all look shocked, especially Aniya. Her eyes shrunk as she saw what happened. "…wha…?" Erik and Kinana also had shock, but their wide eyes were directed to the thing that gripped the missile. For a moment, the missile was stopped by a dark red tendril that immediately whipped it back to sender. It shimmered through the air into Erik and Kinana. "GET DOWN!" Erik reached and covered for Kinana, just as the missile landed in front of them. The explosive wave sent them flying in screaming pain.
"Guys!" Aniya screamed.
A harsh force suddenly knocked Wendy and Carla out like a whip, sending them tumbling towards the ground beside Kinana and Erik as they landed harshly. They all laid on their sides, struggling to recover.
'How did she…!' Aniya whipped back around, only to have eyes widen in sheer shock over what she was bearing witness to. "Wha…w-what?" She saw something slithering in front of Lia as she charmingly smirked at her prey.
The woman saw Aniya's petrified face and she licked her lips. "Oh dear~. It looks like my secrets out. Well I hope you're okay with it."
Wendy strained to get up, but when she saw the figment her eyes widened. Carla soon followed. "What…?" They saw the dark red scales shimmer on it, making them realize what it is.
Still on the ground, Erik's one eyes showed confusion. "…a…tail?"
"Is that…Take-Over…?" Kinana questioned.
Lia chimed another smile. "Oh well, I guess I can show you." She winked. "Just try to contain your excitement, okay?"
They all watched in anticipation as they saw the appendage come up from beneath the massively long skirt. It continued swaying beneath the helm until Aniya snapped her fingers with beaming smiles. The skirt disappeared, allowing everyone to show shrunken eyes as they bared witness to her lower body. Of the group, Aniya's eyes were the most filled with horror. Beads of sweat ran down her face as she saw the extra 15 feet the lower body had. It was dark red, with an orange-yellow pattern on the underside. It was thin, but looked adhesively sturdy for snake-like images. Lia supported herself higher and smiled at their shock-filled faces. That very smile, and that body, it's what was making Aniya drop her weapon. She was so paralyzed as the pieces from earlier finally came together. Nothing but shrilled horror as a familiar Lia figure with a cynical hiss and a fiery background filled her eyes. Her breathing became heavy as hyperventilating exerted.
Lia gave them all a charming smile – a snake charming smile. "Do you like what you see?"
"What…is that?" Wendy asked.
"I've never seen anything like it." Carla stated. "Is that lower half…snake?"
Kinana raised her head, looking at Lia with no less surprise than she did before. "…half-snake…half-human." She muttered. "…she's a lamia."
"A lamia?" Wendy repeated.
Lia winked. "That's right. Allow me to introduce myself. Lia the Lamia. And it's so nice to be here with you all today. I was just hungry for guests." She snickered.
Aniya shuddered as she stepped back, her small eyes starting to mist. "…you…y-you…" she muttered. "It can't be…it just can't be…it's…you."
Lia tilted her head. "Hm? Is everything alright?"
The others saw Aniya's eyes being covered by her visor, but beneath, her hair was shielding her anguish. "…you monster…I finally found you…" she bit her lower lip. "You were the one…that took her!"
"What?" Kinana questioned.
"I'm sorry. 'Her'?" Lia repeated. "I don't mean to impose, but you need to be a little more-"
"Don't play coy with me!" Aniya snapped. "I remember you…ever since that day. You're the one that took my sister from me…you took my sister!" She raised her head high. "YOU TOOK HER FROM ME!"
"Her sister?" Wendy gasped.
"Is that why she's like this?" Carla inquired.
Lia raised her brow. "Oh my, so much hate. Exactly what do you mean, 'take' exactly?"
"Don't play dumb with me." She venomously replied. "You know what I mean."
Kinana looked at the scene with inquiry. "Wait…these two know each other?" She and Erik exchanged looks and then back at the scene.
"…yeah. I know her." Aniya said, answering their question. "It goes back to my childhood. I was with my sister and the townspeople. We lived in peace…until this monster came and took it all from me."
"Including your sister?" Wendy inquired.
Aniya's glare could be seen well through her visors. "She didn't just take my sister…"
The others were confused. But what she said next, was something that no one was prepared for. They looked at each other in worry, and Lia remained calm as Aniya was finally catching her breath. Once she did, the venomous glare she had was beginning to show tears of hate and anger rising.
"No, she did more than just take…she ate her."
Lia smirked.
Gajeel let out a shout as he fired Iron Dragon's Lance: Demon Logs, creating iron kunai that went flying at Decker. The mage did nothing as he instead snapped his fingers once, making his Noctowl fly above and use Confusion. The attack caught all the kunai in midair, it which Decker reached out and made Noctowl send them back. Back they went, reversing course into Gajeel. Quickly, Macbeth got in front, reaching out to use his magic and refract it around them.
"This is getting out of hand. We need to restrain them as fast as possible." Macbeth told him.
"Yeah, you're telling me." Gajeel said. Before they could continue, Decker reappeared between the two, doing a spinning roundhouse kick that knocked both away. Macbeth was sent on the ground, while Gajeel was sent the other way. 'Crap! This guy isn't even giving us time to talk! He really wants to take us down!' He gripped the ground and eased his traction to a halt.
When Decker looked over, he saw Macbeth staggering some. He whipped his arm, sending a net at Macbeth with electrical pulses. The mage used his mage to distort it around him, managing to withhold himself. But that left him open for Decker to appear in front with a fist.
"Iron Dragon's Spear!"
An iron spear lodged itself between Decker and Macbeth, revealing to be Gajeel as he cut Decker off as he backflipped for distance. He remained quiet as Noctowl lowered to his side.
"Thank, I appreciate that." Macbeth said.
Gajeel kept his eyes on Decker. "Don't mention it." He shot a look at Pantherlily, who was now tied up and joining the rest in the big net above Valeria's head. "…listen, we gotta free the others and stop these two clowns together. I'll try and keep this one occupied. You worry about that other one."
Macbeth nodded. "Sounds fair. But be careful." He took off towards Valeria, ready to take her on.
Gajeel faced Decker with a cynical smirk on his face. "Alright pal. If you wanna get Pokémon involved, then let's see how you like this!" He pulled out his Poke Ball, throwing it. "Go, Aron!"
The Poke Ball popped open, revealing the Iron Armor Pokémon on his stubby legs set for battle. "Alright, who's ready?" he sneered.
Decker said nothing as Noctowl moved on his own. He hovered over Aron, ready to take him on. With a snap of Decker's fingers, Noctowl gave a loud hoot before his eyes shimmered, making a rainboe shield in front, via Reflect.
Gajeel smirked. "Heh, gonna take more than that you know." He reached forward. "Alright Aron, use-"
Decker narrowed his eyes, immediately making Gajeel's command go quiet. The Iron Dragon Slayer called out a move, but Aron didn't know which one.
"…uh, what?" Aron looked back at Gajeel. "What was that again?"
Gajeel tried yelling out the move again, pointing at Noctowl for reference. But when he realized no words were coming out, he began to realize. 'Wait…can he not hear me? Did I just lose my voice?'
Aron's patience was wearing thin. "Uh anytime now-AAHH!" With him distracted by the lack of command, Decker snapped his fingers once, forcing Noctowl to use Confusion yet again and create a kinetic burst in front of him, sending him on his back.
("No!") Gajeel tried to yell, but again, he couldn't make a sound.
Aron shakily got back up, shaking his head of the shock. "Man…that wasn't nice."
…
Meanwhile, Macbeth reached forward, using his Reflector Magic to create an invisible scythe wave that went at Valeria. The mage in question said nothing as she instead dropped a lacrima on the ground, which expelled a burst of magnetic energy that blew the attack to pieces.
Macbeth suddenly appeared in front of her, smirking. "You've left an opening. Spiral Pain!" With a swipe if his arms, the air refracted and twisted into a cyclone that picked up Valeria. She held in as she was sent soaring above with the cyclone, leaving Macbeth to watch on with a smirk.
At the cyclone's top, Valeria swiped her arm, summoning a lacrima that her hand break. The crystals of it sparkled until it transformed, creating a kite-like figment that she landed on and sailed out of the distortion.
"I wouldn't do that if I was you." Macbeth narrowed his eyes and used his magic. However, as the kite soared around, he found that it wasn't twisting or mending the way he wanted. In fact, it looked unaffected. "What's this?" he gasped. "My magic isn't affecting that kite?"
As Valeria soared on the lacrima kite, she got to one side as she passed Macbeth. She reqipped a midnight blue staff with dark red accents and aimed it at him. The tip began to charge before it fired an intense beam of magical energy. It reached Macbeth, which he managed to distort around him for safety.
'She's not making it easy to guess what kinds of material my magic is effective against.' He thought to himself. 'She might be testing my magic's capacity and what I can't mend. But as long as I keep my distance, I should be safe.'
Valeria soared around on her kite, making it do a U-turn before it slanted downwards. She deactivated it, turning it to a lacrima state again and stood meters away from Macbeth. Still uttering no words, she faced him with a Poke Ball held in hand. Now it was her turn as she threw out her Pokémon, too.
Coming out in midair, a small purple balloon-like creature with a yellow cross on the face had two beady black eyes, with a puffy white cloud top. It also had two strings with yellow hearts dangling on the ends. This was Drifloon, her Pokémon of choice.
"So I see that you have your own creature to fight with you. Interesting…let's see how it keeps up!" Macbeth swiped his arm, making another invisible scythe.
As Valeria dropped another lacrima, she snapped her fingers. Drifloon's entire body suddenly began to shrink, via Minimize. The attack Macbeth made was neutralized when another lacrima created another field to counter.
'She's using those lacrima to nullify my spells.' Macbeth pondered. 'She must have only so many though, but then how many of those anti-magic devices does she have? It's hard to say. Only one way to find out.' He reached forward once more, creating a powerful twisting air that went at her. Valeria offered nothing this time as she instead pulled out another lacrima, clutching it to recreated the lacrima kite that she glided on. On it, the twisting air met the kite instead, but was neutralized by its crystalline edging. Macbeth grunted as Valeria waved her staff high to summon an updraft to get the kite going. She ascended to a very high elevation to look over him.
Looming overhead again, Valeria aimed her staff down, summoning more power into her staff. Another magic barrage went beaming down at Macbeth, but they instead hit the ground around him rather than him directly. This created a dust surge that clouded up around him.
'Is she trying to make me use my magic against her?' Macbeth wasn't sure what to say, but as he moved his arm, he found something wrong. It was like something was tugging onto it. "What's this?!" He looked over, finding both his arms had laces around him. When he looked back further, he saw a very tiny balloon making a squeaky sound as its laces were extended to bind him. This was Drifloon, and she was using Constrict. "No…"
With her enemy incapacitated, Valeria soared along her kite, passing by in an arch. She requipped the staff away and aimed both arms to create a magic seal. From it, a pink rope much like with Kagura slithered through the air, snaring him. It laced around his waste and his shoulders, making the need for his arm impossible. Drifloon let go so Valeria can whip her arm up, dragging Macbeth skywards. One high enough, they were eye level with shock against unemotional grinning. She whipped her arm down, sending the bound Macbeth to meet ground zero.
…
Noctowl used another Confusion attack, creating another pulse that sent Aron screeching and sliding across the gravel again.
("C'MON! THIS IS NUTS! CAN YOU HEAR ME?!") Gajeel mouthed off everything he could possibly say, but with any verbal commands his Aron was just taking hit after hit. With his frustration rising, Decker reappeared in front of him, using three lacrima kunai in hand and slashed. It was so fats that it made Gajeel scream, but it was horribly muted so no one could hear him, not even Aron.
Aron shook his head and rebound again. "Man this sucks. Hey Gajeel, what the heck are you-?!" He looked back, shocked to see Decker putting Gajeel on the defensive. "Gajeel!" He was then intercepted from his Trainer when Noctowl floated down in front of him. "Out of my way! Metal Claw!" He lunged at Noctowl with his stubby claw making iron and jabbed, but instead it struck a rainbow barrier that refracted light, causing Aron to recoil back towards the ground. He looked up, gritting his teeth. "Drats!"
Gajeel slid back again, dropping to a knee as he held his chest where it hurt some more. Not only was his arm burning, but now his chest from the same weaponry that Decker had. He looked back up with pain as Decker stood mere feet from him, glaring with crossed arms.
'This guy…' Powering through his pain, Gajeel turned his feet to iron columns and shot at Decker again. He tried to punch him, but Decker not only brought a hand up, but another rainbow barrier came up, taking Gajeel's whole punch. It felt like hitting bulletproof glass because Gajeel instantly bounced off. 'What the…wasn't that the move his owl just used?'
Once Reflect lifted, Decker propelled forward, using his lacrima cleats to jet with extreme force and knee Gajeel's chin as hard as possible. He sent him sliding and making a trail in the ground, but all the sounds as it happened were completely mute. If one heard grunting or even rumbling, they wouldn't be hearing it. Even when Gajeel slammed into the wall, making a powerful thud that was mute.
Laying in the ground, Gajeel struggled to get up. He looked up again, seeing Decker over him with folded arms. He loomed over Gajeel as the two had an intense stare down. As they locked eyes, Gajeel could see the sheer intensity and desire the cowboy/ninja man had. It was making very uncomfortable. Decker then looked around, giving a hand sign to Noctowl.
'What's going on here? Why won't they hear me? And why…won't this guy say anything?' He looked over, his shock showing as he saw in the distance the Macbeth was lying on the ground in pink rope leading up to Valeria and her Drifloon. 'Macbeth!' He looked at Aron, who was too low to attack as Noctowl's eyes produced Hypnosis. He watched as his Aron fell into slumber next. 'Aron…'
Not hearing a footstep, he only got a glance up as Decker pulled out one more net. Gajeel's last image was the net thrown over him before a painful shock caused it all the go black.
Minutes later, Gajeel slowly stirred awake, groaning. "Unnngh…what…huh?" He lazily raised his head. "Where am I…? Wait! I'm actually talking!" He looked down, seeing as how he was in purple rope now. "What the…where did this come from?"
"It's that girl." A voice said.
Gajeel looked over his shoulder, realizing he was back to back with Macbeth. "What?"
"That woman that's siding with him, this is her magic. She's binding us and our magic capabilities."
"That so?" Gajeel grunted as she tried to get his laces undone, but his hands were tied behind his back. His whole upper body and legs were tied so he couldn't move them well at all. That not only went for him, but with Macbeth. And nearby, Pantherlily was with the others in the net. Aron, however, was still fast asleep, but rope tied down his waste for good measure. He faced forward, his teeth gritting. "Damnit. You've gotta be kidding me."
Macbeth lowered his head in sadness. "I'm afraid so. It seems we have failed."
Gajeel gritted his teeth. "Hey, it ain't over until-!" He tried yelling some more, but it was suddenly silence. He and Macbeth both went silent as they realized what was happening. They looked back up in front, seeing Decker and Valeria with Noctowl and Drifloon behind them.
They all exchanged a look, one of bitter remorse for the other. While Decker felt sorry for Gajeel, the Iron Dragon Slayer only responded with an intense look of his own, offering pity and scorn. Their stare went back and forth with no words…just as Decker wanted. No words, just action. That's how he became a Spriggan to begin with.
Decker gestured to Valeria with a nod, and she gave a solemn bow. She reached forward and made a tiny magic seal, sending two small pink rope to tie around their mouths, keeping them from opening again. She then reached up and expanded it, making a large pink rope shoot across the area towards the massive net. She tied it around them both, leaving it they couldn't go anywhere.
Decker's eyes finally closed. He moved out of the way so that Noctowl could fly in front and stare them down. As Gajeel and Macbeth stared, they saw he was preparing Hypnosis, and all Gajeel did was mentally curse himself.
'Sorry…guys…'
The red eyes glowed brighter.
"HELLO~!"
An odd shout from the distance thwarted Noctowl. They all perked heads high and turned about startled. They had to question where the sound came from.
"UP HERE! IT IS I! THE SAVIOR OF THIS TALE!"
They all looked towards the top of a building, where they could see someone atop of it. Decker and his associate looked up with raised brows, seeing a man with sunglasses shimmering sunlight.
Gajeel and Macbeth both looked shocked. Aron snorted awake, shaking his head as the yelling aroused him. All three looked towards the sky to find their surprises mounting. '…you've gotta be kidding me.' Gajeel thought.
The silhouette basking in sunlight loomed over the tower balcony, smirking. "Hope I wasn't interrupting anything! Just thought I'd drop in since I had nothing better on my schedule, and hello~! Hot lady at 1 o' clock! That's where I come in!" The man undid his silhouette, revealing himself to be a certain Blue Pegasus Mage, of whom has quite the…issues.
Gajeel looked at Macbeth, then back at the scene.
Decker stepped forward, giving his undivided attention at Kevin. Valeria also stepped up with curiosity.
Kevin stuck his foot on the balcony. "I know what you are thinking. 'Who is this man? And why is he here?' Well…I just am." He chimed. "But for those of you don't know, allow me to introduce to Alvarez who this marvel before you is!" Getting dramatic, Kevin puffed his chest out and stared off into space. He beamed a smile of so much pride it was unnerving. "I go by many names you see. D-Lord…The Sickening…The Unthinkable…but my true alias, is known as Mister P…" he took a pause, whipping his head and making his sunglasses shine. "But my real name, is Kevin. And I…am a lady lover."
The comment and intro left Decker and Valeria confused; the latter scooching a foot back for reasons. Gajeel and the others though just went white with sulking shock. '…I take it back. We're so dead.' Gajeel sulked.
Who missed me? Anyone? Yes? Good, then there's what you've been waiting for! A nice big 23 K full of jam-packed battle action! I really hope you all are happy with this, because it took me nearly a week to write this. I nearly had a month off this story to get chapters up on From Depths We Rise, because I was going to do 3 consecutive updates here after. So here is the first of the consecutive updates!
The two battles I had wrapped up first was Natsu VS Dimaria, and Sophie and Griffon VS Jacob. I felt like I had to get Dimaria's bitterness out of the way first. I noticed in the Alvarez Arc in the last story, she was bitter and distasteful, calling Natsu a demon and otherwise distrusting Brandish. So I thought I would take baby steps starting here. And Jacob, I didn't include his 'dignity' that people wanted in the prequel, so I gave some fanservice for Sophie's matured body, and a look in Griffon's light.
I also gave a deep foreshadow of events transpiring soon, revolving next chapter with Aniya. I noticed that ever since Tenrou Island Arc, there have been less and less mystical creatures in this magical tale, so I thought adding folklore creatures like lamia would spice things up.
Decker is another case. I didn't want anybody who talks or brags about themselves like the other Alvarez people did. I made him all action, and you saw the hard way how he doesn't play around like Jacob does. But his segment will come soon too, as well as our favorite perverted Trainer, Kevin, finally making his move to save the day…Arceus please save Gajeel and the others.
Anyways, it's late and I have a long shift tomorrow. I'll update two more times before jumping ship to normal schedule again. So, as always, review, and thanks again guys!
