"FUCKING HELL FUCK MOTHERFUCKER WHAT THE HELL GODS DAMN IT!"
…
…
Akane?
Mana blinks, the sudden screams shocking her out of her drowsiness.
"STUPID BITCH ASS DOOR WHAT THE FUCK-"
Never in her life did Mana think that such long strings of profanity would make her heart flutter.
Akane!
Episode 22: The Lord and Lady Skarsguard
Akane hisses as her hand instinctively flinches back. "Fucking hell…" she grumbles. Even if Jelly was lying, something's definitely behind this door.
Or Jelly wasn't lying and Mana is really behind this door.
…Akane really doesn't know what to make of that guy.
She drops to her hands and knees, trying to peer under the gap between the door and the floor.
Unfortunately, there is no bottom clearance - the door fits wall to wall like an outer door.
Akane grits her teeth and pushes herself back onto her knees.
If Mana is in there, how is she supposed to get to her? From what she saw of the building while Jelly was leading them here, this is the only entrance to the room.
…Hm.
Mana blinks when the darkness around her is suddenly lifted by a white Magic circle appearing below her.
Huh?
"VINE COVER!"
If Mana could scream, she would when what looks to be around one hundred chains sprout up from the ground and form a barrier over her. One of the chains nudges her cheek and she faintly hears Akane's voice from outside. The chains are thick enough to muffle the sound but she hears Akane's voice going on and on - is she talking to herself or is someone else with her?
BOOM!
The room - or rather, the building - starts rumbling and Mana starts panicking.
What the hell is going on out there!?
Akane, with her eyes closed and her hands on the ground, gasps when she manages to touch something with one of her chains. "That has to be her." she mutters to herself and puts the chain back in place.
Akane opens her eyes and pushes herself up onto her feet. She grimaces as she starts pacing in front of the door. "It's fine, I can do it…it'll only be for a second. No one else is around to even see. It'll just be once. I can't break the door with my own strength because of the electricity and creating enough chains to break it would take up too much Magic Power. It's just…for a second. Just for a second." she rambles to herself, her knees shaking as she positions herself in front of the door. "Fire is…easier…right?"
Akane is answered by Ken's voice ringing through her head suddenly: "Brace yourselves."
And then the building starts shaking.
Jelly and Rina got to him first.
Akane grits her teeth and psychs herself up as she puts some distance between herself and the door. She lets out a shaky breath and closes her eyes. "Please let my aim be good so I only have to do this once."
Mana suddenly feels a wave of heat and the muffled sounds of what she thinks is an explosion.
Then, she finally feels a certain someone start stirring in her head.
…What the hell? Mary yawns, sounding both dazed and confused.
Mary!
It seems like Mana's theory about her attacker hitting her head right where Mary resides was right.
Mana? What happened?
Evidently I'm an easy and attractive target to kidnappers.
Mana pauses her explanation when the chains shielding her suddenly unravel themselves and disappear into pretty white particles. Then, she realizes she can actually see the room she's in.
She blinks, tired and confused, and turns her head to the side. Mana's eyes widen when she sees that the door isn't open, no, but rather blasted to smithereens. The remnants of the electrically enchanted door are strewn all around the room she's in and outside.
"M-Mana!"
Mana's eyes widen even more when she registers the cause of her freedom rapidly approaching her.
Akane.
Mana tries and fails to push herself up into a sitting position (it's a little difficult when your arms are tied behind your back and your ankles are bound together).
"Tch - let me help you first, stupid." Akane snaps when she reaches Mana. She pulls Mana outside of the room and sits her up against one of the walls free of debris.
Mana smiles warmly as soon as Akane unties the cloth around her mouth. "You found me."
Akane grumbles, her face reddening. "Don't look at me like that." she says as she reaches behind Mana for her wrist ties. "Of course I found you." Akane says and shuffles over to untie Mana's ankles.
Fortunately, Mana's prayers were answered and her bindings weren't that weird Blood Magic that guy used on her and Rina earlier.
And despite Akane's attempt at indifference, Mana doesn't need Mary to see the relief on Akane's face.
"I doubt it needs to be said but Marcel is here." Akane says. "And so is his freaky family. Can you walk?" she asks, glancing at the torn skin on Mana's red feet.
Mana nods. "I just…" she coughs. There's a painful and growing soreness at the corners of her mouth now that the cloth isn't there. "I just need a minute." Mana says, thinking back to her strange healing process when she and Team No Name returned to Zaflior with Calypso.
April 11, X793
I think there's something wrong with me.
Well, not wrong, but different. I had a completely broken rib about three days ago and I woke up today with absolutely zero pain coming from it. When I lifted up my shirt to check on the bruising, it was gone. I pressed and rubbed my fingers against it but I'm completely fine now. It's not even tender.
Mary thinks it has something to do with whatever Revenant Beasts did to me. She said she'll keep an eye out for any changes or different feelings our body gets.
Mary scoffs, pulling Mana out of her writing trance.
What? Mana asks, closing her journal and shoving it under her pillow.
It's not like she has any broken bones - just some aggravated skin and muscles and tendons and all that - so it should take far less than three days for her to heal. And she took a break from kicking the electrically enchanted door so it should take even less time to heal.
Akane frowns, "Are you going to do that freaky thing you did with your rib?"
"I didn't ask for the 'freaky thing' when I was being used as a test subject." Mana sighs and sticks her arms up. "Can you help me take my dress off?" she asks.
Akane's face turns as red as her shirt, "C-Can I wh-what!?" she stutters, looking at Mana like she's crazy.
Mana stares at her in confusion before laughing, "I'm wearing clothes under, silly! There's no reason for me to wear this now and it's kinda stuffy, so…" she trails off and sticks her arms out towards Akane. "Off."
…Is it me or does she look a bit disappointed? Mary asks suspiciously.
Mana mentally scoffs, Why would she be disappointed?
Mary sighs, I hope someone hits you on the head again so I don't have to be here.
Mana rolls her eyes as Akane helps her wiggle out of the dress and stretches her arms out when she's free. She frowns when she notices a particular element in their surroundings.
"Why are there things on fire?"
"...I found a bomb."
"Crushing Wave!"
The Skarsguard Family hisses in pain as they're shoved back with a wave of hot water, the force of the wave pushing them against the wall behind them. Miraculously, Mr. and Mrs. Skarsguard remain in their two-person wheelchair and are pushed against the wall while sitting in it.
Marcel grits his teeth, "Mother, Fath-!"
Alistair scoffs, sending another wave at the one keeping them pressed against the wall. "You feel that rumbling, don't you?" he asks. "That was a friend of mine, he gave me the signal that he was going to begin right before the shaking started." Alistair says with a yawn. "We win, give up."
Nicholas screams, forcing his arms to move against the scalding hot water and its pressure, and slices deeper into his hand. "E-Eva!" he calls, giving his sister a look.
Alistair clicks his tongue, shaking his finger. "No, no, no, no. It's not even worth a try." he says. "It's basic science, you know. The blood corpuscles - that is, red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets comprise the solid part of blood. The solid parts of blood never dissolve in plasma-"
Eva scoffs, doing the best out of her siblings in being unbothered by the water slowly but surely burning through her skin. "No one asked for a science lesson, pervert." she says.
Alistair crosses his arms. "Blood itself is made up of water. Whatever you try won't work because your blood will simply dissolve in my water. See? Your blood disappeared in the water almost as soon as you cut." he finishes with a frown. "And you're the one who took my pants."
Mr. and Mrs. Skarsguard, however, look completely unbothered.
"Mother," Marcel repeats insistently. "Father,"
Alistair shakes his head. "I told you, it's useless to try. Once Ken's form grows tall enough, he can reach his arms in here and grab all of you-" he stops.
Shit!
Alistair realizes it too late - Mr. and Mrs. Skarsguard's arms are just below the bottom of the wave keeping them pressed against the wall. They already have their knives poised to slice a fresh cut into their arms:
"No-!"
But of course, they cut.
A scary amount of blood pours out of the arms of the heads of the family. The blood merges together and moves in front of the family as the pool continues to grow.
Alistair sticks his arm out, "Water-"
Marcel turns his head towards his brother, "Nicholas!" he says with a tone of authority.
With an extreme amount of effort and as fast as Alistair can speak, Nicholas forces his arm up from behind the wave of water.
"-Ball!"
Marcel nods his head, forcing the blood out of Nicholas' hand and making his brother wince. He directs it at the sphere of water flying towards the pool of their parents' blood.
Alistair narrows his eyes, "How many times do I have to tell you? Blood-"
"Nicholas' blood can bind things together." Marcel says as the blood makes contact with the sphere and wraps around it like a rubber band. He clenches his hand into a fist and the blood binding starts squeezing the sphere, stopping it in its place. "And I'm assuming your confusion means my dearest Rina didn't get a chance to tell you what I can do either. If you haven't figured it out already," Marcel licks his lips. "I can control the blood of my dear family, pervert." he says and flicks his fingers to the side, sending the sphere of water crashing against an empty wall.
"Stop calling me a pervert."
Eva sticks her tongue out at him, "Take away the hot water and we might."
"Our Magic is stronger when we're near each other." Marcel continues. "One of the many perks of Family Blood Magic. You haven't won anything." he smirks, nodding his head towards his parents. "You and your friends are going to lose and Nicholas and I are returning to Fiore with our brides."
The distraction redirected Alistair's attention long enough to allow the Lord and Lady Skarsguard to finish casting their creepy spell. The pool of blood splits into four and each new pool starts rising and taking shape.
One takes the shape of a tall masculine figure with a top hat.
One takes the shape of a feminine figure with an umbrella in its arms.
One takes the shape of a slim masculine figure of average height in a very bizarre stance.
And the last takes the shape of a masculine figure with what appears to be a top knot in what would be their hair and a katana in their hands.
All four bloody figures are deformed and gross looking but Alistair can still differentiate them for the most part.
…
…
…
Four blood soldiers and a family of five that makes them stronger just by being near each other?
Alistair sweats nervously.
Come on, Ken…
He's probably having a little trouble making that grow quicker because of the many banisters and lighting and what not in his way. Ken still has to be mindful of the Mages and other innocents in the building.
Alistair just has to hold out until then; until Ken's form is big enough to reach into the room and grab the Skarsguard family.
"The Element Four," Lord Skarsguard finally speaks, his voice sounding like he hasn't drank water in years. "Aria, Juvia Lockser, Sol, and Totomaru. While not inherently evil, they did commit villainous acts under the orders of Jose Porla."
The Lady Skarsguard finally speaks too, her voice sounding just as worse for wear as her husband's. "And now they will eject the intruders in our temporary home. Wind, water, earth, and fire. You cannot win." she says. "We will be leaving with Rina Dawnstone and that woman Nicholas found."
Alistair narrows his eyes.
Juvia Lockser?
He learned a lot from her by watching the Grand Magic Games the year Fairy Tail returned to Fiore. And if these copies of them are anything like the real thing…
Alistair moves quickly, grabbing the coffee table in front of him and hurling it at Blood Juvia.
Just as he expected, Blood Juvia uses Water Body - the very same technique he taught himself by watching her in the Grand Magic Games - and the table passes right through her. Unfortunately, it's stopped from hitting the Skarsguard family by Blood Totomaru and his katana.
Also like Alistair expected, Blood Juvia dissipates into her own water and drops into a pool of blood on the floor.
Alistair smirks, "What was that about me not winning?" he challenges.
"...An unforeseen circumstance." Lord Skarsguard says, not sounding too bothered.
Alistair scoffs, "All I have to do now is do the same thing to the others." he says and puts his hands on the ground. "Tidal Wave!"
Waves of water burst forth from the ground and fill the room with about two inches of water, obscuring the floor in the process.
…
…
…
Alistair sweats, "W-What?"
The remaining three blood copies are unbothered.
"I believe my son said it earlier," Lord Skarsguard says. ""When we are together, our Magic is stronger."
Lady Skarsguard stares at Alistair coldly. "The Juvia was a victim of its own Magic, not yours."
Alistair's so shocked he loses his focus on his Crushing Wave keeping the Skarsguard family pinned to the wall and they fall to the ground, free.
However, fortunately, the Skarsguard children seem to be exhausted from the hot water holding them back. They're on their hands and knees, breathless and shaky and their clothes lightly singed.
Marcel, Eva, and Nicholas won't be a problem anymore.
Good. Alistair thinks to himself, turning his attention back to the unbothered heads of the house and their shiny red bodyguards. They're the problem.
The rumbling of the building still sounds fairly faint so that means Ken still isn't anywhere near taking the Skarsguards prisoner.
Alistair still has to fight.
Mr. and Mrs. Skarsguard stare at Alistair with their cold, almost dead eyes. Their next word carries a bit of Magic to it: "Go."
Blood Aria, Blood Sol, and Blood Totomaru rush at Alistair.
Shit!
Alistair puts his arms up to guard himself and braces himself, waiting to see who to defend against first.
He doesn't have much knowledge of famous Fioran Mages - he only knows of Juvia because Acro made a comment to him about their similar Magic back when they first met.
"Alistair!"
Alistair's eyes widen and he instinctively drops Water Body and his guard. As soon as he does, something wraps itself around his waist and he's yanked backwards out of the room just as all three blood Mages attack the spot he was just in.
Alistair lands on the floor and he looks up to see Akane, Mana, and Rina staring down at him.
He gives Mana a small smile of relief, "Glad to see you alive."
Mana doesn't seem to share the same sentiment: "Where are your pants?" she frowns.
"It's a long story," Akane says, saving Alistair the trouble. "I'll tell you later if you behave."
Jelly raises his hand, over by the room Alistair was just in and holding it back from being opened. He's blushing and rocking on his feet - and a bloody nose, as Alistair just noticed.
Mana frowns again.
Jelly twirls a lock of his hair. "I-I'll beha-"
"Shut the FUCK up, Jelly." Akane snaps and turns back to Alistair, now on his feet. "Rina explained what the family can do, we're already caught up with that. What else happened?" she asks.
"I have a question first." Alistair says and points to Jelly. "What happened to his face?" he asks, referring to his bloody nose.
"Mana got her revenge for his ambush. Next question?"
…
Alrighty then.
Alistair quickly explains what happened while they were gone.
"The Element Four?" Mana blinks. "Who're they?"
Rina crosses her arms, thinking. "S-Class Mages from the now disbanded Phantom Lord guild." she says. "They were based in Fiore when they were active." Rina explains and turns to Alistair. "You said the Juvia clone disappeared or something, right? That means we're down to Aria, Sol, and Totomaru. Wind, earth, and…" she glances worriedly at Akane. "...fire."
Akane pales.
"Totomaru is the fire guy, right?" Mana asks and confidently pounds her chest. "I'll take care of him, don't worry about him, Akane." she says with a reassuring smile.
Akane grimaces, staring at her hand with an odd look.
"Akane?" Rina calls.
"...No." Akane shakes her head. "Mana, Rina, and I will take care of the three of them…together." she says. "I'll be fine. For today…I'll be fine." Akane says, determined but anxious.
Rina starts sweating. "Um…"
Alistair nods, "I was thinking something similar." he agrees. "Marcel and his siblings are already down for the count but someone still needs to take care of the parents." Alistair says, tapping his chin. "It took a lot of blood to make those four, together they probably have enough to make one last clone." he guesses.
Rina clears her throat, finally getting their attention. "Um, how do you expect me to help you fight Aria, Sol, and Totomaru?" she asks. "I don't have my lipstick with me and I'm not the best fighter…"
"Simple." Akane says. "You have a bunch of Fiore-based knowledge in that head of yours." she says. "With you in the back telling us what each of them can do, Mana and I can protect you and stay alive long enough for Alistair and Jelly to take care of the parents and whatever clone they make." Akane explains. "Or we could overpower them and toss them into Ken." she shrugs.
Mana gasps excitedly, "We're going to fight together? Like, together together?" she asks, practically bouncing in place.
Akane grumbles, ignoring her question and turning to the others. "Does that sound okay to everyone else?" she asks.
Everyone nods.
"Then let's do it. Open the door, Jelly."
Back in Zaflior…
Emile, Veiss, Madelaine, Acro, and Danate gather outside of the hospital, surrounding Calypso.
Emile pales. "That's who we met?" he asks. "We met…her?"
Veiss tightens the grip on his sword, a fearful look on his face. "We can't tell Mana. Not yet." he says. "She…I have to see for myself."
Madelaine shivers. "Someone like that is here in Zaflior? Is…Is it happening again?" she wonders, mostly speaking to herself.
Acro has a confident look on his face despite his very obviously shaking legs, "I-It's okay, guys. All of our S-Class Mages are here - well, Caia's not home yet but she should be here within a few days, right? And Genesis is out, too…" he sighs. "Maybe it is hopeless…"
Danate crosses his arms. "She's no longer in Zaflior." he says. "Emile and Calypso convinced her that whatever she was looking for is no longer here, she has no reason to stay." Danate says with a frown. "Regardless of her connection to Mana, that woman is searching for something, right?"
Calypso stands in front of them, trembling. "Isn't it obvious?" she asks. "Veiss seems to be the only one who understands."
Veiss gulps and lets out a shaky breath. "That woman…"
"Oh Calypso," an unfamiliar, feminine voice says from behind Emile. "I'm not here for you. I could care less about you." the voice says sweetly.
…
The false sweetness disappears from the woman's voice in their next sentence: "Something of mine has been taken away from me." she says, displeased. "What can you tell me about that, Emile Solflare? Be honest with me and I won't reunite you with your dead priestess." the woman says, the glee returning to her voice.
…
Emile takes a deep breath in and lets it out slowly before addressing the woman. "You're a member of Revenant Beasts." he states.
"Indeed I am." the woman says patiently.
…
"I-I don't…" Emile gulps. "I don't understand," he says. "What did you lose?"
The woman stays silent and Emile would have thought that she left were it not for the force of her presence behind him.
"...I see." the woman says. "You don't know."
Emile exchanges a look with Calypso, frowning at the look on her face. Panic, yes, but she almost looks like she knows what the woman wants.
"Then you'll live to see another day." the woman decides. "You and your...creature."
Emile's heart drops and he feels Novem freeze.
"Just know that this Marcel Skarsguard interfered in my getting back what I lost. If I find him first…" Emile hears the glee creep back into the woman's voice. "I'll take care of him for both of us."
Emile musters up enough courage to ask: "What's your name?"
"You should get that man to a hospital. I didn't lethally hurt him but if you let him bleed out any more than he has…" the woman laughs, ignoring Emile's question. "I wanted him to suffer but it seems like I'm done here. I don't care to see his death through - I have better places to be. Go on, take him to a hospital or whatever." the woman says. "I really don't like when my possessions go missing." she says darkly and just like that - the pressure of the woman's presence is gone.
"...Yutsuko Usagi, Mana's former Master, has come to take Mana back herself."
PF x AH x SS
A/N bestie WILL finish this arc before the end of the month xx
big segc fights coming next chapter i'm sorry if it's bad xx
also a 'wtf is going on with ken' reveal xx
love u xx