Levy could hear her blood pumping in her ears. She'd been watching the battle between Gajeel, Hades and Lily with baited breath, but now a shockwave had gone off. Suddenly the dust cleared and she could see Lily caught in some kind of dark spell.
"What an insidious spell. His own magic is being turned against him." Rheyvar seemed to be watching the fight too.
"Is it reversible? Can he survive this?"
"The magic in him needs to be re-threaded. Anyone can do this, but only if the spell stops soon. Otherwise he won't make it."
Levy could feel her hand shaking as she watched, focused so intensely on Hades and Lily that she didn't even notice Gajeel moving Dragonfang into position. The deathly blow surprised her, but as much as she wanted to let relief take over, now they were facing a new problem.
"Rheyvar? Can you go get him back here?"
The dragon remained silent. It took Levy a second to remember, but then realization settled in. He was gone. If Hades was dead, then the dragon would be released from the summon. A short wave of sadness washed over her, but she pushed it away, knowing there was still a life on the line.
"Leo, open a portal and get Lily here. That distance should be possible, right? We need to treat him"
She watched as Leo arrived next to Gajeel and got Lily. After a second he was back and carefully placed the large Exceed on the ground. He was unconscious, his face still scrunched into a frown, his breathing rapid and shallow as if his muscles were still tense from the shock.
"He survived, but barely. Can you help him?"
When Levy just answered with a focused nod he turned his attention back to erecting a simple shield and looked onto the battle field. Hopefully everything would be over soon. He was slowly running out of magic.
Levy took a deep breath and placed her hands onto Lilys head. She wished to have Rheyvar to guide her, but she'd seen the priests back in Mriithar cure people with magic countless times. It would just need to get him into a stable state, anything else could be done by someone more experienced than her. Closing her eyes, she manifested her magic in front of her inner eye. The familiar golden string materialized immediately, so she carefully extended it to her hands. It pulsated, sensing the presence of another form of magic energy, but Levy restrained it from flowing into Lily. At this point it could overwhelm his weakened system. Instead, she used the reaction between the two to find Lilys magic. It required all her focus, but soon she could see the faintest trace of a light blue thread. It was thin, looked worn out and she could feel it had been torn in a few places. In other parts it was twisted into knots, entwined with traces of another, dark purple thread. Levy shuddered. Magic was alive and a part of someone's body and soul, especially if that someone was a relic like Lily. Ripping and twisting it like this would be not much different than tearing and squeezing blood vessels. It must've been unbelievably painful.
She carefully let a miniscule amount of her magic seep into his body, afraid that anything could undo the balance of his battered thread. Then she got to work, gently untangling the knots and connecting the torn pieces with her own energy. It wasn't perfect, she'd rather have another Exceed do it since their magic would be more compatible, but his body would deal with it after it stabilized. She could feel his breath calming while she worked, his frown relaxed slowly. He'd still need time before he woke up, but she was confident he was out of the woods. Using her usual magic, she conjured up a small pillow and put it under his head before getting up.
"Are you done, Milady?" Leo's voice sounded strange, it was calm but she could hear a lot of tension in the usually relaxed man's voice. She hoped she was imagining it, but he sounded…fearful?
"I am, he needs rest and I don't know the extent of the damage, but he'll live. What's going on?"
She turned to him and noticed he was wordlessly holding the binoculars to her, white as a sheet, his eyes wide with shock. Her hands shook as she lifted the binoculars, half expecting to see reinforcements or Gajeel being taken prisoner. When she peered through them, she half wished that's what it was.
Instead, she saw Hades. Standing there, smugly grinning, the hole in his chest where Dragonfang had been just a moment before now filling with the dark purple flames that seemed to be the physical manifestation of his magic. She cursed herself for not expecting that, Rheyvar had told them! He'd told them Hades was older than any normal human, he'd told them he can use magic to replenish his life energy! Levy's brain stumbled over the thought. Rheyvar? If Hades wasn't dead, then where did the dragon go? But she didn't have time to answer that question, below them, Hades had caught Gajeel in the same tendrils that had almost killed Lily just moments earlier. Levy started panicking, but Leo's voice piped up next to her.
"He still has our ancestors' protection. His energy can be sapped, but he won't end up like Master Lily."
Levy looked back to check Gajeels expression and was relieved to find that Leo seemed to be right. He was visibly angry and his face was scrunched up in pain, but nothing even close to what Lily had looked like.
The relief didn't last long, however, for Hades made his next move. Apparently strengthened by Gajeels draconic magic power, he gathered a lot of it in his hands and shot even more tendril like projectiles into the sky, seemingly aimlessly. But it was only a second before Levy realized where he was aiming. In her panic, she'd forgotten to check the skies, but now the dark magic was clearly wrapping around a familiar form, the shimmering cloak of invisibility he'd worn flickering and slowly giving out as he strained against the tendrils with all his might.
"Rheyvar!"
"Hrrrrrghhhhh, human, hhhhrgg, you have to stop him! He's using the magic of..aarghhh..the dragonblood to…take control of me! He's been…grrraahgh taking my magic and…using it to..hhhggrr replenish his life force and own magic! If he succeeds…hrrghhh he'll wield my power!" His voice, even though it was in her head and therefore coming from his thoughts, sounded as strained as he physically looked. He was fighting the dark mage, but it seemed like he was losing, clearly weakened from the magic loss and being overwhelmed with the power of another dragon. If he lost that fight…Levy remembered how he'd incinerated a tree with what basically amounted to a sneeze. How he'd clearly told them he was capable of wiping out the entire army in seconds. He would level the kingdom.
"Leo."
"Madam?"
"If I fail this spell, leave me behind and warn as many as you can to take cover or hide. That's an order."
"I…I understand."
She gave him a quick smile, trying to be reassuring, but knew it probably looked more nervous than she'd like it to.
Gathering her magic in her hand, she walked to the edge of the hill and started drawing in the air.
Lucy, I hope you were right and I'll be able to tell you about this.
Overlapping geometric forms started forming a pattern in front of her, the perfect guidelines for the incredible amount of runes they'd have to hold. Everything she'd translated and learned, plus whatever Rheyvar could teach her in the few days leading up to battle, including how to write his name, it was all going into the magic circle, starting with the reversed Existence rune and ending with the upright version, her fingers flitting through the air, careful not to make any mistakes despite the hurry.
One last deep breath, then she activated the summoning circle.
A loud, deep, bell-like sound shook the earth, echoing through the meadow as the circle began to glow brighter and brighter.
She closed her eyes against the light, trying to focus on keeping the magic flow steady. Suddenly she found herself in a dark space. It was black as far as she could see, surrounding her like a moonless night. She blinked, surprised for a second, but soon realizing she hadn't actually been transported anywhere. She could still feel the warm glow of the circle and her feet standing firmly on grass. Her mind must have just accessed a form of pocket dimension or other plane of existence. Had it worked then? But if it did, where was Rheyvar?
It was an ambitious plan, trying to summon him when he was already bound to someone. But since there was no real binding contract between them, she was hoping that it would work out.
"You're far more cunning than I'd anticipated, I'll give you that."
Levy whirled around at the sound of the voice, laying eyes upon the dark figure of Hades.
"Tsk tsk tsk…going around, stealing books, stealing summons. I'd never thought you to be a thief."
"I can't steal anything that doesn't belong to you in the first place." She didn't know where it came from, but suddenly, she was completely calm, her voice as sharp and cold as ice. "Where is he?"
"You're trying to summon and don't even know what to do with it. You want to be his master, yet you ask me to just hand him over? Insolent fool."
Levy smiled to herself. This gloating habit of his really came in handy. His wording told her more than enough. She focused, allowing more magic to flow into the spell, with the clear intent of calling Rheyvar to her. He materialized next to her, but his image flickered, her pull on him not strong enough to free him from the grasp of the tendrils, which were still visible.
She increased the flow some more and could see his image strengthening, could see some of the tendrils crumbling under the light of her own magic, but it wasn't enough. She'd run out soon and not even be able to keep Hades from taking control. Evidently, he noticed.
"What was this for? Did you honestly think you could summon a dragon with such miniscule amounts of power? Do you even know the kind of sacrifices I had to make to bring him here? You know nothing. In the face of death, you can do nothing, but squirm helplessly, your mind clouded with fear. Useless."
Levy growled to herself. Usually she wasn't the violent type, but oh the things she'd do right now to strangle his stupid neck he was craning to look down at her. Verbal violence would have to do.
"You're actually quite stupid without that mind reading magic, aren't you?" She chuckled, eliciting a bewildered look from the man who'd so far only witnessed her as soft-spoken. "You want to be such a grand genius, evidently believing youself superior to everyone else, yet you can't even manage to scramble up enough emotional intelligence to realize you're completely and utterly intellectually inferior." Gajeel would be so proud.
Taking a few steps up to the man in front of her, she raised her chin to meet his glare with the same vitriol.
"I don't fear death. You couldn't even compare."
Hades roared angrily, a wave of purple magic emanating from behind him, racing towards her. She knew she didn't have enough magic to protect herself and keep up the summoning spell. So she braced herself for whatever would happen, when a blue light appeared before her, expanding to shield her from the onslaught. Confused, she looked around, spotting a tall, translucent figure next to her. He had shaggy, short black hair peppered with grey streaks, a friendly grin, a whole lot of piercings and red eyes she'd recognize anywhere.
"Hey there! My boy sent me. Can't let this monster lay a hand on my dear daughter-in-law, now can I?" He winked at her. It was startling how much he and his son looked alike, even his gruff voice reminded her of Gajeel. A soft smile graced her lips, happy to have this rare opportunity to actually meet his father, whom he seemed to remember so fondly. Metalicana answered with a smile of his own, but almost immediately snapped his head back to where Hades was standing, his figure becoming more translucent by the second. "We don't have much time. Go on, lass. I'll hold up fort in here." He looked at her with determination, but behind it was a clear nostalgia, tinged with sadness. "Tell him I'm proud, will ya? He's doing well."
Levy wanted to answer, but everything went black and when she opened her eyes again, she wasn't in the dark space anymore. Once again she could feel the wind and sun on her skin and see the summoning circle in front of her, still glowing. Rheyvar was on the battlefield, still fighting his chains, but he wasn't the only one. Gajeel was freed from the tendrils, dodging random attacks and trying to launch his own on Hades. Her mind was racing, trying to find a way to finish the summon and win the tug-of-war between her and the dark mage. She could feel him gaining more control by the second, but drew a blank.
A large paw appeared on her shoulder. Bewildered, she looked up, into the tired but reassuring smile of a very familar exceed.
"Don't worry Madam. We brought reinforcements." he rasped, clutching his side, but standing strong.
She turned, surprised to see the reserve forces from the camp standing behind them, even the camp followers were there.
"What…?"
Leo came up to her, panting, but grinning proudly.
"The dragon told me you'd need help, Milady, so here we are!"
"Alright everyone! Your future queen is currently in the middle of battle against the enemy leader. You know what to do!" Lily addressed the crowd, surprisingly lively considering the condition he'd been in just recently. Then he did something even more surprising. He started singing.
And everyone fell in with his song, haunting and beautiful and utterly overwhelming, they sang. They sang for her. She remembered how the priests in Mrithar had taught her remember, magic is alive. It can feel intent, it knows your feelings and your desires.
As it had before, the magic sung with them, the air humming with power. This time it didn't just gather and settle though. It flowed to her. The crowd stretched out their hands to her and she could feel an overwhelming amount of magic flowing to her. She turned back to the circle and poured all of the magic she was receiving into the spell, overwhelming any resistance she could feel from Hades. The light from the circle was blinding, the thrum of magic almost impossible to control, but she could feel her connection to Rheyvar deepening. She smiled, tears welling up in her eyes at this show of love and support from these people who didn't really know her, but were willing to put their faith in her.
It was time to show them it wasn't in vain.
/
AN: Ah, this was cathartic to write :3
kaniyah1979: Uhhh, I'm so glad to hear that! Thanks for telling me, I hope you like this one as well ;P
