Mama Mirajane
It was a bright and sunny day, as Natsu, Grey, Erza, Lucy, Happy, Velvet and Scythe were playing at the beach of Akane Resort.
They had done everything, from playing volleyball, chasing each other in a game of extreme tag, to building sand castles. Scythe and Lucy even turned Grey into a sand mermaid when he fell asleep on the beach, waking up when Erza and Natsu were playing a game that involved a wooden katana and a watermelon, with one of them being blindfolded. Erza ended up causing Grey some pain in the spot that's most precious to a man.
"Man this is great, we really owe Loki one for this." Scythe smiled as he stopped laughing.
~Flashback to Yesterday at the Guildhall Construction Sight~
"You're a celestial spirit?" Natsu questioned.
"No way really?" Happy asked.
"Sorry I didn't tell you before." Loki smiled as Natsu was staring at him from all over.
"Aha. So that must be why it felt weird whenever we switched bodies." Natsu exclaimed referring to the Changeling Incident.
"Yeah I guess so." Loki chuckled.
"Gotta say, I'm surprised we never caught on to ya." Grey exclaimed.
"How come you're not a cow, or a horse, or a crab, you're just a dude?" Natsu questioned.
"Virgo has a human form to." Loki exclaimed. "It's not like we're all animals."
"You say that but I've seen her turn into a gorilla." Natsu stated.
"She's not really a gorilla." Loki explained.
"Loki here's actually a lion spirit." Lucy smiled.
"Seriously?" Natsu asked.
"A lion's like a grown up cat right?" Happy questioned.
"Yep you got it." Loki stated.
"Don't lie to him." Lucy shouted.
"Hey guy's what's going on?" Scythe asked, coming to the group wearing his blindfold, with Mirajane beside him, acting as his guide, even though he didn't need it.
"Uh… Scythe why are you still wearing those?" Lucy asked.
"What do you mean, he's blind isn't he?" Grey questioned. "He gouged his eyes out yesterday."
"You ruined the surprise big-sis." Scythe smiled causing Mira some confusion.
"What surprise sweetie?" Mira asked.
"She doesn't know?" Lucy questioned.
"I got back after she fell asleep, Uncle Elfman knows though." Scythe smiled. "He had waited up for me in the living room for when I got back."
Scythe reached up to remove his bandages, and opened his eyes, revealing that he not only could see again, but his eyes had been completely replaced.
"Scythe, how'd you get your eyes back?" Mira questioned in shock alongside, Grey, Natsu, and Happy.
"The Celestial Spirit King." Loki answered. "He was moved by Scythe's devotion to his friends and family, and in return did two things for him."
"One was giving me back my eyes, they're even better than ever." Scythe smiled. "The second…"
"He's a Celestial Knight, with a fraction of the Celestial Spirit King's power." Lucy smiled. "Knighted by the Celestial Spirit King himself."
"What, no way." Grey exclaimed.
"Dude that's so awesome, you're a Celestial Knight." Natsu gasped.
"All it really did was expand my magic reserves, allowing me to have more magic than I did before." Scythe chuckled.
"Well, back to Loki. I mean it is great Scythe has all five sense again, but shouldn't you be resting up back in the celestial world right now?" Grey questioned.
"I'm doing a lot better than I was. I just wanted to come say hi." Loki smiled. "Well that and, I couldn't wait to see Lucy again." Loki exclaimed causing her to blush.
"He loves you." Happy said in a mocking tone.
"Shut it cat or you're gonna get hurt." Lucy glared.
"Excuse us, we need to have a little chat about our future together." Loki stated taking Lucy away bridal style.
"What are you doing? Put me down this instant." Lucy complained struggling in his hold.
"Aw man, I wish I had a celestial spirit." Natsu complained.
"What kind of thing would it be?" Happy asked.
"A Dragon duh, 'cause then I could practice my magic on it." Natsu shouted.
"Yeah." Happy cheered.
"Are you two idiots or something?" Scythe questioned glaring at the duo. "Celestial Spirits aren't objects you can just summon to beat on. They're living people, they have hearts, souls, and emotions. You two are just as bad as Laxus if you think you can do that to a Celestial Spirit."
"We're sorry." Natsu and Happy said bowing.
"That's right." Loki smiled as he was standing beside Lucy with his arm around her shoulders. "You summon them when you need something."
"I think you better go back now." Lucy said holding up Loki's key. "You gotta be careful, you're not back to full strength yet."
"I got you something." Loki said reaching into his pocket pulling out five tickets. "Here you go."
"What are those?" Lucy asked.
"They're tickets to this awesome beach resort. You've done so much for me it's the least I can do." Loki smiled.
"The beach?" Lucy questioned.
"I've never been to a place like that before." Grey added.
"I already gave Erza and Velvet their tickets, I hope you guys have a good time." Loki smiled.
"Come on, chop-chop, no lollygagging. Now hurry or we'll leave you behind." Erza exclaimed.
The five of them turned around to see Erza with a blue and white flower patterned shirt, red shorts, and a red star tube around her waist, with Velvet standing beside her in a bikini top and a pair of shorts, while Erza was hauling her cart filled with beach stuff.
"So much stuff." Lucy and Grey said in unison.
"Alright I'm ready to go." Natsu cheered.
"Mom, can I go please?" Scythe asked turning to Mira.
"Well, I don't know. Will you bring me back a souvenir?" Mira asked with a smile.
"Of course I will."
"All right then, go and have fun, stop by home first to pack your bag." Mira smiled.
"I already packed it." Velvet smiled holding up Scythe's travel bag.
"Then get to it." Mira smiled.
~End Flashback~
"Man I never knew beach resorts could be so much fun." Lucy smiled, as she was lying beside Erza and Scythe in lounge chairs. "Though you're probably gonna have to stay in your room later on when the rest of us go to the casino area."
"It's fine, I'll just go to the amusement park area instead." Scythe smiled before he frowned as he smelt something funny.
"What's wrong?" Erza asked as he stood up from his lounge chair.
"I smell smoke." Scythe exclaimed. "And it's not coming from an overcooking barbeque."
Scythe turned and looked around the beach, looking over the area behind the waters, and found the source of the smoke. There was a yacht out in the distance, burning with fire.
In a flash of black lightning, Scythe went zipping along the beach and jumped over the crowd that had gathered as they all had caught sight of the yacht. He dove into the water, using his Water Godslayer Magic to swim to the boat, growing gills on both sides of his neck, and webbing on his hands and feet. When he was right beside the boat, he went to the bottom of the water before he sent himself spiraling to the top, creating a whirlpool of water that sprouted up past the ship, before splashing on the boat, dousing all the flames on the surface.
"Hello, anybody here?" Scythe shouted.
"We're here." A young girl's voice sounded from below the deck of the ship. She sounded as if she were in a lot of pain just to talk.
Scythe went to where the voice came from and devoured the flames that had been on the inside of the cabin of the boat, that hadn't gotten doused in the whirlpool.
"Hold on, I'm gonna get you out of here." Scythe called using Satan Soul to remove several large pieces of debri from the area.
The structure above him was creaking, signaling he did not have a lot of time to get whoever was in here, out. He acted quickly, before reaching where the voice came from, devouring the last of the flames that were in his sights, before destroying a wooden beam that was blocking his path.
"Over… here…" She said her arm reaching over a beam that hid her from him.
"I'm here." Scythe exclaimed.
He removed that piece of the ship to find the young girl was about a year younger than him, with long blue hair tied in a ponytail, wearing a golden one piece swimsuit, with a white cat in a dress, and bow on her tail in her arms. She looked as if she were in pain as she looked up at him.
"Please, help… her."
"I'm going to help you both." Scythe exclaimed taking her in his arms bridal style, while she still held her cat friend.
"No, I'll only slow you down." The girl exclaimed.
"I'm not leaving anyone behind." Scythe exclaimed. "Where are the others?"
"We're the only ones left. Everyone else jumped ship, I would have, but I needed to find Carla first." She said holding the cat closer to her.
"Don't worry." Scythe stated as he made his way to the ship.
As he made it up, he heard what sounded like a high whistle sound before realizing that some of the flames down below must have gotten to the yacht's fuel tank, and what he was hearing was a leak from the pressure the outside heat was causing.
"Hold on." Scythe exclaimed running to the edge of the ship.
Scythe jumped from the ship's side, just as the flames reached the leak, and caused the whole ship to explode. Holding tight to the girl, Scythe braced for impact on the water, before he began using his Water Godslayer Magic again.
Heading in a random direction, Scythe shot out of the water, and landed on his back, skidding to a halt as he still held the girl and her cat in his arms. He sat up and looked around to see he was on an uninhabited part of the beach. The resort was to his left, but was quite a distance away.
"Just hold on, I'm going to get you both back to your room." Scythe exclaimed carefully standing up as he still held them.
"Thank you." The girl said.
Scythe couldn't help but blush as she gave him a smile, before he began using his Sky Godslayer magic on her, healing any of the burns or scrapes on her at a slow pace.
"So what's your name?" Scythe asked as he was now walking on the stone pathway.
"Wendy Marvell." The girl smiled. "What's yours?"
"Scythe Strauss." He smiled. "What were you doing on that boat?"
"I may not look it, but I'm a sorceress from the Cait Shelter Guild, I was hired to be a bodyguard for a tycoon, turns out he had lured me into a trap. He traffics little girls on the black market. I was his next target." Wendy explained.
"What type of magic do you use?" Scythe questioned.
"I'm a Dragonslayer, I use Sky Magic." Wendy stated, feeling her strength slowly returning. "What about you, what are you doing here?"
"I'm a sorcerer from Fairy Tail, I'm on vacation with a few friends of mine. I'm a Godslayer, as well as a Takeover sorcerer." Scythe explained. "I use Satan Soul just like my mom."
"You're from Fairy Tail?" Wendy asked.
"Yep, my mom is a barmaid there. She's also in every centerfold of every Sorcerer Weekly magazine out there. I was even featured in this week's issue for the 'Family Moments' section, wound up being in the centerfold with my mom." Scythe smiled, remembering the photoshoot he had to do with Mira before the guild started accepting job requests again.
"Y-Y-You're Scythe, the God of War, from Fairy Tail." Wendy exclaimed jumping out of his arms and looking at him, Carla still in her arms.
'I really wish I had been given a different name than that.' Scythe sweat-dropped. "Easy there, you're still injured, and you've probably got some smoke in your lungs still." Scythe exclaimed, catching Wendy as she began to fall while coughing.
"Thanks. I can't believe I'm in the presence of one of Fairy Tail's Bachelor's." Wendy stated as she used Scythe for support as they were still walking.
"Do you have a room at the resort?" Scythe asked.
"Yeah, it was paid for by the guy who tried to kidnap me." Wendy stated.
"How did that fire start?" Scythe asked.
"I was supposed to go there alone, while Carla was supposed to stay in our room, but she decided to follow me, and caused a distraction, allowing me to free all the other children he had below deck." Wendy explained. "Though to keep my mouth shut, he set the boat on fire, and trapped Carla in one of the cages."
"What does this guy look like?" Scythe asked, feeling his blood boil.
"He's long gone by now, so you won't be able to track him." Wendy said, as if reading his mind on what he was planning to do.
"Well, your injuries are healed, there are no noticeable scars, take slow deep breaths to clear out your lungs, and I'll take you to your room." Scythe explained as they neared the hotel.
"Thanks." Wendy smiled as she began using her magic on Carla.
"You should take it easy for a bit. You should be good by later tonight." Scythe smiled.
"I'll try. Thank you." Wendy smiled after they reached the elevator.
It didn't take long for Scythe to lead Wendy to her room, she smiled and bowed to him in gratitude, before entering her room, and leaving Scythe to himself in the hall.
Feeling a sense of accomplishment, Scythe decided to head back to the beach to let the others know he was all right. Upon reaching the lobby, Scythe was barraged by the media, as well as his family from Fairy Tail that had been a part of this trip. One of which, Erza began looking over him for any injuries, finding a few scrapes and bruises, and something very shocking on his back.
"Young man, young man. Tell me, what compelled you to go to that burning ship?" One of the reporters asked as Erza went to the others talking in secrecy.
"Were you the one who started that fire?" Another reporter questioned.
"Did you have any loved ones on that ship?" A third asked.
"Are you the young man from Fairy Tail, who's not even S-Class, but still took Jose Phantom Lord's Ex-Master, head on even after you took a full Jupiter Cannon blast?"
"It's a hero's duty to help those in need, that's why I went to that burning vessel. No I was not the one who started the fire. No I didn't have anyone that I loved on that ship. How the hell did you get that kind of information if the council kept most of the war under wraps?" Scythe questioned, answering all the questions in the order they were asked.
"What do you gain from being the hero of anyone who was on that yacht?" A final reporter questioned.
"It doesn't matter, what I get out of being the hero. It's not about getting the most reward, the biggest praise, or the most experience in a fight. What matters is doing what's right, and correcting what's wrong." Scythe explained. "If they stand behind you, give them protection; if they stand beside you, give them respect; if they stand against you. Show. No. Mercy."
"Pardon me, coming through, excuse me." A man wearing a white suit, with a red tie, gold cufflinks, gold tipped winged shoes, topped off with a top hat, and a diamond headed cane, said pushing his way through the crowd. "Young man, my name is Stanly Spamly, the owner of that yacht, there was a young girl on there, from a guild called Cait Shelter."
Scythe's eye twitched hearing that, trying his damned hardest to hold down his anger.
"Is that so?" Scythe asked trying to keep his cool.
It was obvious to the others though that something was agitating him, and it was clear they understood his anger was directed towards Spamly.
"I was able to escape with my life, but I fear the worst has happened to that poor girl. Did you save her?" Spamly questioned. "I had hired her from the Cait Shelter guild to be a guard for a soiree I was having. She was buried under some debri, I had tried to save her, but she told me to go. Did you save her?"
"Yes, I did. You know, she told me quite a different story than what you're telling me right now." Scythe exclaimed. "But they add up to the same conclusion."
"I thank you young man." Spamly said holding out his hand.
Scythe begrudgingly took the man's hand, and clenched it tightly, unnaturally tightly.
Spamly tried to hide the pain as Scythe brought him in to whisper something to him.
"If you try to kill her again, I will torture you until you beg me for death." Scythe whispered. "Turn yourself in, and we won't have a problem, and if you try to run, I will hunt you down, and I will find you, and I will kill you. You can't outrun a man with power equivalent to that of the top five Wizard Saints."
Spamly paled at this, sensing a godly energy emitting from the boy, before Scythe released his hand, the sudden change in pressure causing a bit more pain, and sending him to his knees, leaving his cane in Scythe's hands.
"Keep up the act until you go to the police station." Scythe whispered as Spamly returned to his feet.
"A-as a token of my gratitude, you may keep my most prized possession, my cane." Spamly said pointing to the cane in Scythe's hand.
"I appreciate it Mr. Spamly." Scythe smiled before the man clad in white left.
Scythe directed his attention to Natsu and with one look, the fire dragon understood he had to follow Spamly until he reached the police station, having used his enhanced hearing to listen in on what Scythe was whispering to Spamly.
With Natsu following him the crooked man, Scythe went to meet up with the rest of his friends as the media group dispersed to either different stories, or to write out the one on Scythe they just acquired.
"So, mind telling us what that was all about?" Erza asked.
"Yeah, he seemed kind of freaked." Grey added.
"You didn't extort him for his money did you?" Lucy questioned.
"Nope. The creep was a child trafficker, and the girl he was talking about was going to be his latest victim, but things went south, and he had to hide his tracks, so he tried to kill her in that boat fire. I told him if he tried again, he wouldn't like it, and that if he ran I would hunt him down, finishing with him continuing the act until he went to the police to turn himself in." Scythe explained swinging the cane around, the color of it changing from white to black, while the diamond remained the same. "Huh, look at that, its paint that changes color based on who owns it."
"You did a good thing Scythe." Erza smiled. "Though your grip looked a little stronger than it should have been, even with your Godslayer magic."
"I know what you mean, I was holding my strength back as much as I could when shaking his hand." Scythe chuckled.
"You know, now that you mention it, he does look a little more toned and lean, while his muscles look a little larger." Grey exclaimed looking Scythe over.
"It could be that the Celestial Spirit King's magic has enhanced your natural abilities like strength, speed, and reflexes." Lucy theorized.
"That does sound like a good theory, it's the only one we've got, so it'll have to do." Grey stated.
"Not only that, but check this out." Scythe smiled as the cane flashed white and disappeared. "Pretty neat huh, I found out about this little trick this morning."
"Reequip magic."
"Not exactly, while it was like that in view, I think it was something else." Velvet exclaimed. "Could you summon the Celestial Spirit King?"
"Only if you want me to destroy the resort, and kill everyone in it." Scythe exclaimed.
"Never mind then." Velvet chuckled nervously.
"I have a better idea." Lucy smiled pulling out a silver key. "Open, Gate of the Southern Cross, Crux."
From out of nowhere, Lucy summoned the spirit who had helped her figure out Loki's true identity. A large cross like person with nose hairs in the same shape, wearing a mid-evil poet's outfit.
"What can I help you with Miss Lucy?" Crux asked.
"Could you tell us why Scythe is able to do something similar to reequip magic?" Lucy asked Crux turned his head to the left, snoring with a snot bubble.
"I think he fell asleep." Grey exclaimed.
"Nope, he's searching for info." Lucy chuckled.
"I've got something." Crux exclaimed. "The young master is able to perform a magic similar to reequip magic, because he is a Celestial Knight. He has access to the Celestial Knight's armory from all who were knighted by the Celestial King before him. He can access a multitude of the weaponry there, even enter the armory himself, if someone were to hold some sort of anchor that attaches him to the physical world, that is."
"I see." Erza nodded in understanding. "But for simplicity's sake, we'll just call it reequip magic since it acts in pretty much the same way."
"Agreed." Lucy, Grey, and Scythe said in unison.
"Thanks Crux." Lucy smiled, Crux's head tilted to the right as he was snoring again.
"I think he's digging up more information." Erza stated.
"No, he's really asleep this time." Lucy smirked.
"What? But isn't this how he looked for information earlier?" Grey asked.
"That's if his head is tilted to his left, if his head is tilted to his right he's actually asleep." Lucy stated.
"Well, I'm going to go upstairs and get a shower." Scythe smiled noticing it was getting kind of late. "I want to go to the theme park, not smelling like a bonfire."
"Hold up Scythe." Erza exclaimed. "Before you step into the shower, you might wanna take a look at your back."
"My back?" Scythe asked.
"Trust us, you're gonna want to see it." Lucy sighed with a smile.
"Alright." Scythe said before reentering the elevator, going to the floor his room was on, which was surprisingly on the same floor as Wendy's. 'I knew this seemed familiar. My room's right across the hall from hers.'
Entering his room, Scythe grabbed a fresh pair of clothes, and entered the bathroom, before turning his back to the mirror to look at it, like Erza suggested. When Scythe saw it, he dropped his clothes on the ground, finding it free of any sort of blemishes, his entire body, was clean of any scars he had obtained during his time as a slave. The only scars remaining were those he obtained from the damage he took from the Lotus Barrier blocking the Jupiter Cannon's blast.
"M-my back, it-it's clear." Scythe smiled, feeling as if he had a great weight lifted from his shoulders. "Thank you your highness." He said as a single tear of happiness fell.
Scythe cried happily for a few minutes before entering the shower, cleaning himself off and preparing for the theme park.
Once he was clean, he used his Fire Godslayer magic to dry himself off, before getting dressed, and combing his hair back with a heated hand. Scythe was dressed in his usual gear, minus the falchions, with added shoulder pads and thin, but strong under armor, unaware of someone standing in the corner.
"My you certainly have grown my boy."
Scythe froze in his tracks, turning his head over to see someone he had wished to never see or hear from again. The man was tall with white hair and a white beard, sporting a purple long sleeved shirt, and white pants, trying to blend in with the tourist crowd, and an eyepatch over his right eye.
"What are you doing here Hades?" Scythe questioned equipping himself with his falchions.
"There's no need for violence. I'm just here to bring you back to Grimoire Heart." Hades exclaimed stroking his beard.
"I'm never coming back with you. I'm a member of Fairy Tail, all the scars of my past, all the reminders of the pain you and the Seven Kin, put me through, are gone, I was granted closure by the Celestial Spirit King, so you can take your ass out of here, and you can leave." Scythe growled as the scars on his arm began to glow.
"I'm afraid I can't just leave you here in the hands of these incompetent fools, Fairy Tail can't control your power, and they can't handle it. They can't even teach you how to use it. Come with me or Fairy Tail will suffer the consequences." Hades exclaimed.
That was the wrong thing to say, as Hades then found himself propped up against the wall, his feet off the floor, as Scythe held him by the throat.
"If you try to declare war on Fairy Tail, you will regret it. Come Hell or High Water, I will hunt you down, and I will use every ounce of magic gifted to me by the Celestial Spirit King, to destroy you, and Grimoire Heart. Fairy Tail is the strongest there is, you should know that, Second Master Precht." Scythe growled.
"How do you know about who I am?" Hades questioned.
"Master Makarov showed me a photo album of his glory days, including the photo of the day you named him Third Master, and left the guild. I recognized you the instant I saw your picture." Scythe growled. "Leave Fairy Tail alone, or I will destroy you."
"I see you're threat S-c507, but do you see mine?" Hades questioned.
Releasing his hold on Hades neck, the old man dropped to the ground, coughing up a fit, as he glared at Scythe.
"Leave and I may be persuaded to not hunt you down for what your fire crazed animal did to my parents." Scythe explained turning to leave.
"Do your friends know the truth about you?" Hades called out. "Do you even know the truth about who you really are?"
"What are you talking about?" Scythe questioned turning to glare at him.
"No normal human should have been able to accept all the Godslayer Lacrima you took and survive." Hades began. "Those parents of yours, weren't your real parents."
"I know that. I'm the bastard son of a deadbeat dad, and a mother who didn't even love me." Scythe exclaimed turning his head to face the door once more. "But they took me in, and loved me like their own."
"No. Your mother did love you, but she couldn't handle the responsibility of having a child at such a young age, especially since she gave birth, to the son of Acnologia." Hades said with a confident smile.
Scythe's eyes widened in shock, as he raised his head, turning to Hades only for the old man to be gone in the wind.
Scythe spent what felt like hours standing in the middle of his room, before he snapped himself out of it, wanting to keep himself distracted with fun at the theme park.
Upon leaving the room, he opened the door to find Wendy leaving her room, wearing a red sleeveless shirt that acted like a dress, with a pair of sandals, and her hair down.
"Oh, hello again Scythe." Wendy smiled. "Where are you off to?"
"Theme park, I'm too young to be in the casino, so I'm spending my night there." Scythe smiled. "What about you, where you heading?"
"Theme park, I convinced Carla to stay in bed and rest up, that I'll be fine on my own." Wendy smiled as they walked down the hall together. "Though to be honest, they're not really all that fun when you have no one to go with."
"Well, who says who you have to go alone?" Scythe asked. "Would you like to go with me?"
"R-really?" Wendy asked. "L-like a date?"
"N-no I just thought maybe, it'd be… it'd be fun to go together." Scythe exclaimed realizing what Wendy was thinking.
"W-well sure, I'd love to go with you." Wendy smiled looping her arm through his, causing Scythe to blush.
'She's still thinking this is a date.' Scythe mentally groaned. 'Oh, if mom finds out she's going to kill me.'
~Back at the newly rebuilt Fairy Tail Guildhall~
"Hey Mira, can I get another Strawberry Sunshine over here?" Levy asked waving her arm in the air.
"Coming right…" Mira began before she stopped, the drink mixer in her hands falling to the ground.
"Hmm, what's wrong Mira?" Makarov asked noticing the concerned look on the barmaids face.
"My mother sense are tingling." Mira stated. "Someone's taking my baby out on a date."
"Oh boy." Makarov said going bug-eyed. "At least no one broke the #1Rule." 'They grow up so fast.' Makarov said with a happy smile on his face.
~Back with Scythe and Wendy~
(Cue Music… Can you feel the love tonight: Lion King)
"So, what do you want to do first?" Wendy smiled as she and Scythe walked through the lobby, where a certain blue haired water sorceress was peeking from behind a corner.
"Oh my, it's Scythe, and he's got a girl with him. My little Scythe is growing up." Juvia smiled happily with stars in her eyes, and a blush to her cheeks, and tears of joy in her eyes.
"Well, I was thinking maybe we head to the ferries wheel first. I hear it's got quite the view." Scythe smiled.
"Alright." Wendy smiled as they exited the hotel through the theme park entrance.
Scythe looked around the theme park and saw the ferries wheel was closed for repairs.
"Aw, too bad. Let's go try something else." Wendy smiled.
Scythe directed Wendy's attention to a different carnival ride, a small rollercoaster with a loop.
The duo began to enjoy themselves as they went on different rides, trying different games and tricks that were needed.
Scythe was concerned about there being a knife throwing game, but still won Wendy a giant plushy white tiger with a red ribbon around its neck. The night was starting to get late as the duo began making their way around one more time, spotting a high-striker game, with the man running the stand being jack-ripped.
"Hey, how much to give this a try?" Scythe asked the guy in charge.
"Two jewels. Two tries." The muscle man said. "The reward for ringing the gong is a couple backstage passes to the next K/DA concert."
"Oh I love K/DA, they're so amazing." Wendy smiled.
"Alright. Two jewels, give it a try Wendy." Scythe smiled.
"Oh, one more thing. No magic, it's considered cheating." The man said as a family of three came by to see what was going on.
"Oh that's not fair." The orange haired woman exclaimed. "Give the girl a chance to use her magic."
"Nora, it's the rules. C'mon, just watch." Her husband exclaimed calmly.
"Ren look at her, she's skin and bones." Nora exclaimed.
"Mom, just stop." The pink haired girl exclaimed.
"Chelia?" Scythe asked seeing the familiar pink haired eight year old. "Ren, Nora?"
"Oh hey, it's Scythe." Nora smiled as Chelia hugged him. "Fancy seeing you here, are you on a date?"
"No, we're just hanging out, since we didn't want to be alone at the theme park." Scythe smiled. "Wendy, you ready to give it a try?"
"I would if I could just lift the hammer." Wendy groaned trying to pick it up.
"It can't be that heavy." Nora exclaimed grabbing the hilt, having trouble with picking it up. "Yep, it's heavier than my war hammer."
"Hmm." Scythe contemplated. "Let me give it a try."
Wendy and Nora stepped back as Scythe took the hilt of the hammer, effortlessly picking it up with one hand.
(End Song…)
"W-what?" Nora questioned, as the family of three, plus Wendy and the man who ran the game, had slacked jaws at the feat.
Scythe examined the hammer's head and sighed.
"You're scamming people, the head of the hammer is made of five hundred pounds of lead. The only reason it's this small is because of compression magic." Scythe stated glaring at the game instructor.
"W-well I gotta make a living somehow." The man said sheepishly.
"If you wanna make a living, join a guild and use this hammer as your weapon." Scythe groaned slamming the hammer on the high-striker, sending the puck to the gong, and through it, breaking it, before it was embedded into the ceiling. "Otherwise someone will call the police for illegal use of magic."
"H-here's your reward, and your money back." The man said, handing him the back stage passes to and the two jewels he paid.
"Scythe, that was amazing." Nora smiled. "Your mother must be so proud of you."
"You do look a little bigger than when we last saw you. Did you go on a protein diet with some intense workout regimen?" Ren questioned.
"No, actually, it's a bit of a story. One I'll tell you another time. Stop by the guild some time, and we can hang out." Scythe smiled.
"Will do." Nora smiled.
Suddenly, their smiles left as they all flinched on instinct, with Nora bringing Chelia into her arms, as a gunshot rang out.
"What the heck was that?" Nora asked.
"Sounded like it came from the casino area." Scythe exclaimed. "That's where the others are at."
Within a flash of black lightning, Scythe disappeared, leaving Wendy with her pass to the concert, while running to the casino of the resort, slipping through security just as it got dark.
"What the hell?" Scythe questioned as his eyes adjusted to the dark, just as the lights came back on, temporarily blinding him. "That wasn't a power outage; that was someone's magic."
Running along the casino, Scythe found four people, one of them holding an unconscious Erza over his shoulder, and the another one holding Happy in her arms, with Lucy tied up in orange ropes. Without warning, Scythe zipped past them, retrieving his friends from their clutches, and skidding to a halt, with black electricity sparking around him.
"Scythe." Lucy shouted in joy.
"Just what the hell, do you think you're doing with my friends?" Scythe questioned putting them down softly.
"Our business with Erza is none of your concern brat." The tan skinned blonde stated glaring at him.
"It is when it involves abducting her." Scythe growled turning his head to who had spoken.
"Jellal wants her, and will have her." The kitty eared girl exclaimed.
"Jellal?" Scythe questioned. "I'm going to take a guess on who the four of you are."
"We don't have time for this." The blockhead stated.
"You must be Wally." He said pointing to the blockhead. "That must mean you're Sho." He stated pointing to the blonde tanned man. "You're Millianna." He exclaimed pointing to the kitty eared girl. "Which makes you Simon." Scythe glared as the muscular man with the eyepatch and iron jaw.
"Very perceptive boy. You must be friends with Erza if you were able to guess on who we are." Simon said, sounding impressed.
"My past and Erza's are the same. We were both kidnapped and forced into slavery. She told me about the four of you, about how you were the only family she knew." Scythe growled, taking on a feral stance. "She escaped to save her friends, from dying at the hands of Jellal because of his threat, while I was a guanine pig and disposed of when I was thought to be dead."
"What nonsense." Sho exclaimed pulling out a blank playing card, and throwing it at Scythe.
He dodged the card, and went running for Sho. Only to be tied up by orange ropes.
"Bad Kitty Restraints." Millianna shouted as she restrained Scythe's arms and legs.
Sho threw another blank card at Scythe, before it enveloped him, trapping him in the card.
"There, now grab Erza and let's get going." Sho sighed picking up the card with Scythe inside, and putting it in his pocket. "Jellal will want to see him."
"Let my Daughter's friend go."
Sho turned around to see an angry orange haired woman wielding a metallic hammer, with a black haired man with pink bangs, running beside her holding dual machine guns with blades.
Ren jumped into the air, landing on Nora's hammer, before she threw it, and sent the ninja man flying at the four of them.
"Poison Lotus." Ren shouted spinning around with black mist forming an impromptus drill head.
The four of them evaded the attack, with Simon grabbing Erza, and Millianna grabbing Happy, before he used his darkness magic to envelope the six of them, seven if you count Scythe in the card, and they disappeared.
"Damn it, they got away." Nora growled.
"Are you all right?" Ren asked cutting Lucy's bindings.
"I'm fine, but they just took Erza, Happy, and Scythe. Mirajane is going to be pissed." Lucy stated as she got up and rubbed her wrists.
"You're a friend of his?" Nora asked putting her folded up hammer on her back.
"We're from the same guild." Lucy explained.
"Do you have any idea why they might want him?" Ren asked.
"I don't know. But he's known to face off against one of the Ten Wizard Saints and come out standing. That was proven when he fought Jose." Lucy sighed getting up before her eyes widened in fear. "Oh no, Natsu." Lucy shouted running off in a direction, with Ren and Nora close behind. On their way, they spotted Grey, lying against a drink stand. "Grey. Oh, he's ice cold." Lucy said putting a hand on her friend's shoulder, only for him to turn into ice and shatter.
"Oh no what have you done?" Nora screamed.
"Don't worry Grey, I can put you back together." Lucy shouted as she began putting the pieces back.
The statue came out like Grey was on the prowl like a perverted man.
"There's no need to panic." A familiar woman's voice exclaimed.
Over to the side, Juvia formed and made her presence known.
"I remember you. You're with the Element4." Lucy exclaimed.
"Lucy wait." Grey's voice echoed before Juvia revealed him from inside her water body, causing both Lucy and Nora to gasp.
"She's not our enemy anymore." Grey exclaimed.
"Yes, that's right." Juvia stated. "I pulled my precious Grey inside of me."
"In public, seriously?" Nora joked. "You should be more careful where you two end up doing it."
"Nora, this is not the time for perverted jokes." Ren groaned.
"Is it just me or does that seem really weird?" Lucy asked.
"Are you jealous he was inside of me, and not you?" Juvia asked, having a look of victory on her face.
"Uh, not really, no." Lucy stated.
"This dude cast a darkness spell, so I created an ice decoy, to distract him until I could figure out my plan of attack." Grey explained as he began to remove his shirt and tie.
"I wanted to keep the real Grey safe from harm, so I pulled him inside of my Water Lock, until I was sure the danger had passed." Juvia explained.
"Yeah, and I couldn't do anything from in there." Grey sighed. "Thanks to you the creep got away." Grey stated, causing Juvia to gasp in shame. "Now what, do you know where everyone else is?"
"No I don't. It's bad. They took, Erza, Happy, and Scythe. What's worse is we sent Velvet home because she got food poisoning at dinner so we can't use her to help find Scythe." Lucy exclaimed.
"Why is he taking off his shirt?" Nora asked Ren.
"He's an Ice Maker Sorcerer. It's probably just a habit from his training in the cold." Ren exclaimed.
Not a second later, a large scream of anger echoed around the casino while the temperature rose as well.
"Is that…?" Grey and Lucy asked in unison.
"The nerve of that guy." Natsu coughed.
"Natsu." Grey and Lucy shouted as the five of them came running to him.
"Huh?"
"What happened to you?" Grey asked.
"Hey, what kind of jerk shoots people in the mouth? Huh? I mean, someone could get really hurt." Natsu exclaimed.
"Uh I think that'd kill anyone who isn't a weirdo like you." Lucy exclaimed.
"I would have to agree." Juvia, Nora, and Ren said in unison.
"I'll show that blockhead!" Natsu shouted. "He's not getting away with this."
"Follow him." Grey shouted.
"Wait. Uh… does he even know where he's going?" Lucy asked.
"Natsu has a nose for prey that'd put an animals to shame." Grey smiled.
"As much as we'd like to join you, we have to go. We have to see if our little girl is going okay." Ren exclaimed.
"I really hope you find Scythe though." Nora exclaimed as she ran off with Ren.
"I'M COMING FOR YOU BLOCKHEAD." Natsu's voice echoed after a large boom resonated throughout the area.
"Did he just break down the door?" Juvia asked.
"He did. That's typical Natsu." Lucy sighed.
~Meanwhile on the boat to the Tower of Heaven~
Erza began to wake up to see an old childhood friend standing before her, dressed in a completely different attire to what he had worn when he kidnapped her.
"This place, where are we?" Erza asked.
"Inside the hold of a ship at sea." Sho exclaimed.
"A ship?"
"That's right." Sho stated. "And our course is set for the Tower of Heaven."
"You dumbass, let me out of here and I'll show you the real entrance to heaven." Scythe shouted form the card in Sho's pocket.
"Scythe?" Erza asked.
"Your little friend is quite the troublesome one. I've already had to put him in a triple layered card prison since he broke out of the one I had put him in before we left." Sho explained pulling the prison card from his pocket.
"I see." Erza exclaimed in defeat. "I should have known where we were heading to. Would you please untie me, I won't cause any trouble."
"I'm afraid I can't. You've proven yourself untrustworthy."
"She's untrustworthy? You're working for a damned murderer." Scythe shouted pounding on the cover of his prison. "That mad man's just using you for his own gain. I should know, I was present at every meeting he had with Grimoire Heart, serving them pigs in blankets."
"That's enough out of you." Sho shouted. "I've had enough of your lies."
Erza slightly struggled against the ropes hoping to free herself, before she felt Sho grab her face and force her mouth open, as he held the card, folded in half, lengthwise.
"Let's see how he likes being in the dark." Sho exclaimed shoving the card down Erza's throat.
Erza struggled to get Sho to stop, but it was futile as she inadvertently swallowed the card imprisoning her friend.
"S-Sho, what have you done?" Erza gasped as she could finally catch her breath.
"He'll be fine. The acids in your stomach won't be enough to break through the prison." Sho explained as he stood up once more. "I'm sorry things had ended this way. But I had enough of his lies. He doesn't even know what he's talking about, all those blatant lies aren't true in the slightest."
"Please, let me get him out." Erza groaned as she struggled to free herself of the ropes.
"That won't help, Millianna's ropes conceal magic; you're struggling in vain." Sho explained. "You'll find you'll have no luck in breaking free from them. The efforts will just tire you out, and as I said, your friend will be fine so long as he doesn't break free of the card prison."
"Fine I won't resist. But please Sho, will you allow me to requip into my armor? The Tower… I'm afraid of going back there. I just wanna have it on so that I feel safe." Erza explained.
"But the outfit you have on now. Is lovely." Sho exclaimed before going to his knees and crawling over to hug her. "Honestly I didn't want it to happen like this."
"It's okay." Erza exclaimed.
"I missed you so much." Sho stated, tears streaming down his face. "It hurts me."
The ship continued its course, unaware that they had a certain come one clinging to the side listening through the wood to their conversation.
"Tell me, why, why'd you do it? Why'd you betray Jellal?" Sho shouted, anger clear on his face.
Erza remained silent, not wanting to anger him or reveal the truth out of fear it would break his mind. She still feared for Scythe since Sho had shoved his prison down her throat, but her mind kept returning to one man.
"Jellal."