Chaos XI
Mirajane, disguised as Lucy, walked towards the edge of the lake. The Fairy Tail members tried to keep quiet, not wanting to blow her cover, but silently opposed her decision.
"Leave my guild alone, Jose! I'll come with you!"
As Mirajane waited at the edge of the lake for the enemy to collect her, the building in front of her began to transform. The turrets fell and the building split, and ghostly figures seemingly conjured out of nothing began to surround the structure. The guild hall continued to morph until it took the form of a massive robot. A mechanical arm swooped down and grabbed pseudo-Lucy from the edge, lifting her into the sky. The guild watched with terror. Some assumed the plan might work, that is until a small missile was aimed right towards her. Screams began to ring out.
"You thought you could fool me, Demon Mirajane? Your abilities are nowhere as refined as they once were." Mira's transformation faded as the grasp around her tightened. She cried out in pain. The missile started up, but just before it could fire, the mechanical arm was severed from the building, falling towards the lake but landing on a bed of snow. Mira crawled out to safety, being picked up by Happy and returned to the shore. She shot Gray a look of appreciation before being ushered inside the remains of Fairy Tail's base by other members.
"So, the Chaos Dragon remains on the board. You intend to carry your guild to a win, do you?" Jose cackled as the ghosts in the sky began conjuring magic circles. "See if you can handle Abyss Break."
"Abyss Break?"
"That's a forbidden spell… it'll wipe out Magnolia!"
"But what about the cannon?"
"That spell will do a lot more damage than Jupiter."
"Sword Horn." Natsu murmured, igniting his body before shooting forward at an abnormal speed, crossing the lake and directly slamming into the Jupiter canon as both sides watched in shock.
"He still had the power to do that after taking a hit head on?"
"That takes care of that. No time for a break, those things are coming!" A barrage of shadowy monsters flew towards the guild, who quickly started attacking.
Inside Phantom Lord's base, Natsu stood triumphantly over the unconscious form of the Element Four's fire user.
"Didn't even know anyone was in here." Natsu stepped over the mage to inspect the canon. Igneel's Sword Horn technique had barely left a scratch on it, but was it worth destroying? The timer above the canon was still going, a solid eleven minutes remained. Hmm.
"Push forward!" Erza directed. Phantom Lord had sent magic draining phantoms out in waves, waves that were coming in fast. Faster than the fairies could fight back. She watched as Alzack took a hit for Bisca, and Laki fell just before Loke could reach her. They were losing manpower, and without her whole guild battle-ready, they would have no chance against Abyss Break, which was stewing inside that guild at this very moment. Something had to be done. "Cana," Erza called, grabbing the attention of a card-wielding brunette. "I need you to lead the guild for now. Gray, Elfman, with me!" The two men ran to Erza's side at the call.
"We goin' in?"
"Yes. We can't sit idly while Chaos handles Jupiter. We need to find Jose. Gray, get us over there."
"On it." Gray formed a bridge of ice to a high window of the guildhall turned mech. The trio crossed, and Elfman punched them a way in. As they ran through the halls, a figure in the floor grabbed Elfman by the ankle.
"Elfman!"
"Go! I can handle this." Elfman shook the figure off as Gray and Erza sprinted on. The stranger melted into the floor before reappearing behind the fairy and shoving him forward with a blast of fallen concrete. "Element Four, huh?"
"I am Sol, Earth of the Element Four. Salut."
"Elfman of Fairy Tail. Beast Arm: Black Bull." Elfman's right arm transformed into that of a bull. He got into fighting stance, but the earth mage in front of him simply laughed.
"Oh? Just the right arm? It seems the rumours are true." The mage swayed and taunted, dipping into the ground to avoid incoming punches. After a few moments of back-and-forth exchanges, Sol hit Elfman with another blast of debris before twisting his face into a devious grin. "Didn't you have a little sister?"
In the Fairy Tail guild hall, Mirajane Strauss sat in tears. She was powerless to do anything but wait while her guild fought, while her brother fought. Without warning, a magic circle appeared beneath her. She yelped as she sunk into the ground and returned to the sky. The remaining arm of the mech guild hall closed around Mirajane, pinning her in place. She screamed out in pain as it tightened around her. She looked in the nearest window to see her younger brother stricken with distress.
"I detest those who try and deceive. Watch, Fairy Tail, as your friend is crushed by my hand."
The guildmembers on the beach panicked, Elfman remained in his trauma induced trance. Mira watched through tears as her brother was knocked around like a ragdoll, unable to fight back. When he fell into the window, Mira screamed.
"Elfman!" She cried as loud as she could. Her brother looked up, eyes widening as he noticed his elder sister's predicament.
"Why… why are you there?!" Elfman yelled back, fury building up inside him.
"Is that your older sister?" Sol danced behind the weakened Elfman, taunting once again. "She was once the feared Devil, Mirajane, non? Such a pity she lost all that magic power. Who could be to blame for it?" Elfman froze once again, transported back to the hell in his head. A time not long ago where he lost it all. He couldn't hear Mira screaming at him from the grasp of the robotic hand to run, or hear Sol's sardonicism, encouraging him to give up before he loses Mira too. It all fell on deaf ears as the beast inside began to claw its way out.
"Are you sure we should've left him?" Gray asked.
"It's fine, he can hold his own." A wall crumbled before the two and they skidded to a stop. "Who's there?" Erza requipped a sword.
"The sorrow…" A figure appeared in a tornado behind Erza and Gray.
"Move!" Someone shouted.
"Chaos! What's happening?" Erza and Gray prepared to fight as Natsu landed in front of them, the wind mage disappeared into thin air.
"It's Aria. The Element Four's leader." Natsu explained. "He's a real bitch to fight, can't get close." Natsu jumped at a sudden burst of motion beside him. A block of ice was crushed by an invisible force. "Thanks for the assist. Didn't ask for it."
"Don't discredit this guy. He took out gramps. If you get caught in his airspace, he'll drain your magic."
"Yeah, found that out." Natsu huffed.
"Focus on our battle. I will not let you approach Master Jose." Aria cried, conjuring a few more magic circles, each of the fairies jumping out of the way."
"Go find the water one." Natsu ordered Gray, who returned a look of bemusement.
"Right now?"
"Yeah, now. There's only a few minutes until Abyss Break is activated. Maybe the fewer Element Four, the weaker the blast."
Gray gave a nod before running off down a hallway. Erza jumped in front of the explosion of compressed air intended to stop him. Aria was taken off guard by the sacrifice, and Natsu used the brief moment of vulnerability to trigger Chaos Dragon's Flare beneath the wind mages feet. He was launched forward and hit the ground hard. Erza didn't waste a moment following up the attack, requipping into Heaven's Wheel and firing a barrage of blades towards the downed enemy.
The attack hit a split second too late, giving Aria a window to reposition himself in front of Chaos. The dragon slayer didn't let this surprise him, welcoming the melee distance and landing a solid flaming right hook on the tearful mage's cheek.
So far so good. Now all they had to do was keep the pressure up.
Gray climbed through a broken window, which put him on top of the structure. "Where did this rain come from?" It was completely clear earlier, and he hadn't been inside for long. He looked into the distance, squinting at the foggy figure of some monster hugging a woman. What's that all about?
"Drip… drip…" A girl holding an umbrella emerged from the mist. "I am Juvia. Element Four."
"The water one, now it makes sense." Gray gathered his thoughts and got into ice make stance. "I won't go easy on a girl." The water mage stared at him hard for a moment before her face flushed and she turned away. Gray raised an eyebrow.
"Juvia gives up then. Goodbye!"
"You can't just leave!" Gray shouted, running after her. Juvia's heart sped up, and she trapped him in a prison of water. Gray grimaced inside the bubble. He still hadn't made a full recovery from his Galuna Island injuries, and the sudden water pressure worsened the pain. He froze and shattered the water around him, having completely missed Juvia's panic or the look of adoration as he broke free.
Juvia twisted, turned, and blushed as Gray stripped in front of her. She danced around fantasies in her head while Gray took the battle seriously, throwing out lances of ice. The attack passed right through Juvia, and she reformed quickly. "Juvia's body is made of water. It cannot be pierced." She went on to start a monologue of fate and romance, but Gray couldn't be bothered to listen. He dodged her next attack, watching as it cut through the steel beams above him. He couldn't underestimate her.
The two exchanged moves in a smooth pattern of attacking and dodging, Juvia pausing to swoon and shout every so often. Through boiling water and fits of rage, Gray eventually managed to gain the upper hand by freezing her water and trapping her in a pillar of ice. Juvia sat in silence, expecting to live out the rest of her days frozen solid. But she was released. She fell to the floor stunned. Why would he free me?
The rainfall poured harder as Juvia collected her thoughts. She needed him. She… "I… I lo-"
"Sheesh, the rain got stronger. Man, it's so gloomy." Gray mumbled, but Juvia heard it loud and clear. Gloomy. Juvia grew hot with anger as the word echoed in her head. Of course, she should've known. He was just like the rest.
And the battle continued.
"Such sadness…"
"How much longer will we have to go at this…" Natsu grumbled. He'd lost track of time through the endless skirmish. If only they could create one opening to get to Jose…
"Chaos, do you think getting to Jose will stop Abyss Break?" Erza panted, raising her sword higher. It was as if she read his mind.
"Pretty confident about it."
"And you know exactly where he is?"
"Scent's right up those stairs. If only this fucker would move." Natsu tensed as the magic power around began to shake. He glanced to Erza, her familiar requip transformation was being dialled up to eleven. Natsu lowered his fists and took a step back, allowing his guildmate centre stage.
"I will be your opponent, Aria."
"Whatever you will make's no difference." The wind mage brought forth his airspace once again. "Airspace of Death: Zero." Erza stood still in her Black Wing armour. She gripped an axe and braced for the attack. Natsu placed his trust in her ability to win and quietly slipped up the stairs towards Jose's office. It didn't take long for the magic pressure from below to subside. He waited in silence for his cue.
"Congratulations, vermin. You've managed to stop Abyss Break." A familiar grating voice sounded through the loudspeakers accompanied by sardonic applause. "But what you overlooked amidst your battle with my Element Four was Jupiter itself! Say your goodbyes. It's over Fairy Tail!" Jose cackled as the timer declared its last few seconds.
"Is it?" A new voice spoke. Jose turned towards the source, where a black-clad mage stood unperturbed outside his window. On top of the Jupiter canon.
"What?!" He yelled as the time reached zero and the canon fired. The blast was wide. The fairies on the beach shielded their faces from the debris, and whoever was unlucky enough to be on the same level in the Phantom hold was dropped into the raging waters below. As the smoke cleared, Jose's lifeless body lay still among collapsed limestone walls. A direct hit from Jupiter was no joke, after all.
"Unfortunate. You would've been a fun fight." Natsu looked at Jose before hopping off the canon, pulling the kill switch in the bore to prevent it from firing again. He leaned down to check the pulse of the enemy guild master. Nothing. That could cause some problems later. He listened to the outside commotion. Fairy Tail cheered as the shades began to fade. Phantom members panicked as the building began to lose stability. And Lucy cried out in pain somewhere.
Wait, what?
Natsu's head whipped towards the direction of the sound. Didn't Mirajane send Lucy off somewhere? Why was he hearing her cries? It had to be a trap. Unless it wasn't.
Natsu followed the direction of the cries to a higher floor on the opposite side of the base. The closer he got, the more sounds became clear. Multiple mages, Lucy and the cat, and the one bastard who should've known better than to piss him off.
Natsu blew up the iron door that blocked off the high room. Sure enough, Lucy was tied to the wall, bleeding and unconscious. Happy sat in her lap in uncontrollable tears. The few Phantom members in the room looked at the newcomer in fear as he burst into flame, but one simply laughed.
"Nice of you to join us, Chaos Dragon. Geheh."
A/N: ffnet seems to be having lots of problems lately. u can find this story along with my other active story skater boy on ao3 NightcoresLover should something happen to this site