Hello everyone, and welcome to an extra special 'Halloween' chapter release of a Quincys Fairy Tail! Thanks to your support of Redemption V, (here's hoping for more reviews) as well certain aspects of this chapter, I couldn't help but think that now was the perfect time to release this chapter in particular.
This is one of my favorite fights in the arc this far, and one of the ones I worked on the hardest, so it would be REALLY appreciated if I got some proper feedback for it in a review. I'm certain it's one that you all will Enjoy.
Now, before we go onto the chapter itself, there's something that needs to be addressed from Tite Kubo himself from his Q&A that involved The Bambis. I want to both clarify what's actually being said, and if it will have any bearing to AQFT itself.
So according to Kubo, The Bambis are ranked in this order in regards to Blute proficency
1. Liltotto
2. Giselle
3. Meninas
4. Bambi
5. Candice
In regards to hand to hand combat. (And I'm willing to wager this is skill based only), it's
1. Liltotto
2. Meninas
3. Candice
4. Gigi
5. Bambietta
There are two things to bear in mind in regard to this.
1. Once again, this is purely based on hand-to-hand combat. No swords, no Schrifts, just hands. Kenpachi for example is way stronger than the likes of Soifon, but has weaker hand to hand combat abilities and thus would rank lower.
2. Seeing how this is more than likley CFYOW into account, this is probably referring to Zombietta, not Bambietta in her prime.
Ok, do we have that out of the way? Ok, good.
Now, how does this factor into AQFT?
Well...yes and no.
In regards to hand to hand combat, I'm actually ok with Liltotto being the best...in terms of skill. This would also, mind you, be without using any weapons. In terms of sheer power, even without the schrift, I feel that Bambi or Meni should be the best in this regard. Skillwise, however, I'm fine with Liltotto being this high.
In regards to weapon skill, it probably looks more like this.
1. Bambietta (She's the only one seen to be able to use a melee weapon outside of vollstandig and thus has the best reason for using it the most, thus giving her a higher proficiency with it than the others.)
2/3. Candice/Meninas: Dual wielding swords is no joke, but these can only be accessed in vollstandig. A similar argument can be made for Meninas during her clash with Ichigo.
4. Liltotto. We only get a very brief glance into her using her 'Spife" move, so there's not enough to go on in regards to weapon skill. Still, there's clearly something there.
5. Giselle. What weapon skills? I had to give her a knife to just give her SOMETHING. I guess you could say we could use "munchy munchy babies" but...I seriously have a hard time buying she can really throw hands with those. Dosen't really fit the character. Like at all.
But reiatsu/schrift wise it...just makes no sense given their showings. I invoke "Death of the Author" in regard to this Q & A question if that's taken into consideration or how it's intended.
Honestly, I find the fact that Liltotto can hit harder than Meninas, even if it is just with Blute and no Schrifts to be absurd.
So instead of answering this in a roundabout way like Kubo did, I'm going to instead answer this as blatantly as possible with how strong each of these characters are in regard to one another.
Bare in mind, this is for the TYBW versions of these characters, however, NOT how they currently are in AQFT. So Schrifts, Vollstandig and the like are included. This is primarily however taking in reiatsu and schrifts into account.
1. Bambietta (Easily the most overpowered of the schrifts out of the five of them and in the Manga it was implied they were very weary of her and that she has bodied them all in the past. Also Giselle's statement once she used Vollstandig, defeating Shinji with just one attack, and needing immortal regeneration, one of the most broken abilities in all of Bleach to one of the most physically powerful characters in the series to put her down, PLUS her own attack going inside of her on top of it.)
2. Meninas (CFYOW says she's on par with Kenpachi in terms of phyiscal strength even after Unohana training and managed to budge Ichigo, even if he was off guard. Survived against Royal Guard Byakuya.)
3. Liltotto (Had a similar level of performance to Meninas, but lacks the statement from CFYOW. Also survived against Royal Guard Byakuya.)
4. Candice. (Lost to Byakuya, has lower stamina in vollstandig compared to the rest, manga implies shes the most inexperienced with vollstandig, but while she did lose an arm to Getsuga Jujisho, it's a miracle that's all she lost)
5. Giselle. (Requires her zombies to really do the fighting and is easily the most dependent on her schrift. Was overpowered by Ikkaku and Yumichika)
Baring this in mind, it's entirely possible for Liltotto to have still defeated Meninas like in canon, though for the purposes of this story, this was done because Meninas controlled by Pepe's "The Love" probably was fighting sloppy due to his influence over her, allowing Liltotto a chance to win.
To clarify, this is nothing more than my own head canon and shouldn't be taken as a serious interpretation outside of this fic. In all likely hood, Liltotto is probably the second strongest of the five of them. However, for the purposes of the narrative of AQFT, Meninas will be considered the second strongest.
Now with all of that behind us, let's not delay you anymore. Enjoy!
Bleach is owned by Tite Kubo and Shönen Jump. Fairy Tail is owned by Hiro Mashima and Weekly Shönen Magazine. I own NOTHING. This is all just for fun.
Ninety minutes. There was only ninety minutes remaining for Laxus's enforced 'game', the Battle of Fairy Tail. In the beginning stages, it seemed that Laxus had all but won, with the members of the guild falling from in fighting, dealing with the members of the Thunder Legion, or the dark mages and Arrancar that Emberella had brought with her to support his cause. Yet despite all of this, the members of Fairy Tail had finally begun to turn the tide more in their favor. Momo and Liltotto had defeated two members of the Thunder Legion, while Rukia and Lucy had just finished taking out rather high level criminal opponents of their own.
"Lucy vs Joshua, the winner is Lucy! Alright, go Lucy!" Natsu cheered as he looked at the results from within the confines of the guild.
"Way to go, Lucy," Levy muttered to herself as she looked at the results. She'd be lying if she hadn't said she wasn't at least a little bit concerned about her friend's safety, especially after she found out that there were more "Espada" around. Still, she was beyond happy to see she could now hold her own.
"What!? No way! That little princess can actually fight!?" Gajeel exclaimed with complete surprise. With how little she had ended up doing during the war with Phantom Lord, he was certain she wasn't much of a fighter!
"Yeah, she's tough as nails." Natsu said with pride. Admittedly, Lucy hadn't been much of a fighter when she first joined, but after the incident with Phantom Lord, it seemed one of his closest friends had really begun to improve herself.
"She's just a cheerleader!" Gajeel retorted, the Iron Dragon Slayer solely focused on how the blonde had dressed for the Miss Fairy Tail contest.
"Well, they can be tough," Natsu replied as he crossed his arms.
"That's baloney, I've never heard that before!" Gajeel yelled at him.
"Really? You mean you haven't heard the tale of the Tortoise and the cheerleader?" Natsu asked as he lifted up a stuffed turtle toy seemingly out of nowhere.
"It was a hare, ya moron!" Gajeel retorted as he butted heads against Natsu, right before he took out a hand puppet of a pink rabbit. "And the dumb bunny lost, remember!?"
Ulquiorra resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the sheer stupidity of it all. If I have to listen to this conversation any longer I think I'm going to start losing brain cells.
Even Royd Lloyd, currently disguised as the fake Yhwach, had to resist the urge to not completely cover his face and groan from the sheer stupidity of it all. The things I do for His Majesty.
Natsu scowled. "Man, you're just lucky Bambi ain't here to hear any of this."
Gajeel scowled. "Why, she gonna be mad that I don't think one of her gal pals can't fight? Please! I ain't scared of that."
"What? No man. Lucy's her girlfriend."
Gajeel's jaw went slack, his eyes wide and white with fear before he grabbed onto Natsu's shoulders and got up in his face, their noses almost touching. "You don't repeat a single word of what I said about her to that crazy chick, ya hear me!?"
Natsu grinned. "What's the matter? I thought you wouldn't be scared if I told her 'one of her gal pals' can't fight?'" He answered in a mocking tone.
"Making fun of someone's friends and someone's girlfriend are very different things! I don't want to know what she's gonna do to me!"
"Sounds like you're scared to me."
"Just shut up and promise!"
Levy had gone back to focusing on the task at hand, rewriting Freed's Jutsu Shiki. Try as she might however, certain parts of the spell were giving her quite a hard time. "I still don't get this part at all," Levy spoke to herself as she looked down at her assembled notes, books, and tomes.
She groaned out of frustration as she lowered herself to the ground. "If only I could just reword it." This was taking up far too much valuable time! Right now some of their strongest members remained trapped through this darn barrier, and it was all up to her to get them through this! She just needed some sort of breakthrough! Come on, Levy, think! The mage thought to herself.
Suddenly her eyes shot wide open, the mage rising up to her knees. "Ah, that's it!"
"What's what?" Both Gajeel and Natsu asked as Ulqiorra turned his attention back towards his closest friend.
She went back to her tomes, the blue haired mage scrambling to write on them as fast as she could. "I've been going about this all wrong! I need to look at these two grammar styles like the tortoise and the hare and translate them at two different rates!"
Natsu and Gajeel couldn't help but glance at each other in confusion before they looked over at Ulquiorra.
"Do you have any idea what she's talking about?" Gajeel asked the arrancar.
"Yeah man, we're totally lost." Natsu added.
"Don't be ridiculous. The answer should be obvious," The arrancar stated before he turned his back towards them. They leaned in. "...Of course I don't."
"If you don't know what she's talking about, then just say it!" The two dragon slayers demanded.
"If I take the integral number of synchronized letters in a single pass and transform them into Gell Grammar and then translate that into Louge…" Levy shot up right to her feet then, her notes fully finished. "I've got it!"
"Yeah!" The two dragon slayers declared, with the arrancar giving his friend an almost unnoticeable smile.
You truly are a gifted Mage Levy. He couldn't help but think.
Levy promptly walked over to the barrier then, the Solid Script mage going to work on the assorted letters. "Now just give me a second, I just need to re-write this barrier."
Running her light pen along the words, Levy spoke as she went to work. "This is it you guys, When I'm through here, you three will join the battle of Fairy Tail. I hope you're ready!"
Natsu's left hand. engulfed themselves with flames as he prepared himself. "Yeah, I'm all fired up!"
Gajeel for his part, simply sneered. "It's time to take out the trash."
"I share the same sentiment." Ulquiorra declared as he also prepared for the barrier to fall.
Levy finished moving her pen across the barrier, the assorted letters crashing to the ground before both Natsu and Gajeel took off into a sprint.
"Laxus! When I find you I'm going to make you pay!" Natsu declared before he and Gajeel went down separate streets.
Levy smiled at the retreating pair before she looked over towards Ulquiorra. "Looks like you're free to go, huh?" She asked with a cheeky grin.
The arrancar nodded. "Indeed. Now that I know of his location, engaging Laxus in battle shouldn't take long."
"Do you really think you have what it takes to defeat Laxus without going into your Resurrección?" Levy asked.
"On my own it would be most unlikely. However, with some assistance, victory should be more than possib-"
His eyes shot wide open then, the arrancar sensing a familiar presence…and it was approaching Mirajane. His eyes narrowed. "Damn it." He cursed.
Levy looked at the arrancar with concern. She couldn't recall a time she had ever heard him swear. "Ulquiorra, what's wrong?"
"One of my former allies is quickly approaching Mirajane and her brother." He answered. "As things stand right now, they have no chance at victory. As a matter of fact, I fear their very lives are at risk."
He then began to slowly walk out from the guild. "Stay here. Thing's have become much more dangerous."
"What!? No, I can't just let you go out there on your own!" Levy shouted at him. "We need to-"
"If you fought alongside me against this foe, you'd only get in the way." Ulquiorra told her bluntly.
Levy's fearful eyes shot open before she looked down at her feet. "I…I just…Wanted to help."
"You freed the dragon slayers and myself already have you not?" He answered her. "As far as I'm concerned, you already have. Now please, find the one known as Poryluisca and have her see Master Makarov. I fear his health will only continue to deteriorate until we have her or Miss Marvel's assistance."
Then, before she could say anything else, he vanished, the familiar sound of Sonido echoing in the air. "Ulquiorra…"
The pale arrancar dashed through the air as fast as he could. He couldn't afford to waste anymore time. The looming Espada threat was closely approaching Mirajane and if he didn't do something soon, it would result in nothing short of a catastrophe.
I'll just have to hope that Elfman can hold him off long enough before I arrive. The arrancar thought. The odds of the oafish man pulling it off were next to none. At his best, Elfman was only on par with Privion Espada 107 Gabtinbine Mosqueda . Any of the next generation of the Espada would be sure to make mincemeat out of opponents of such caliber.
"Sorry, but I'm going to need to borrow ya for a second."
Ulquiorra's eyes widened at the voice as he felt a firm hand clench around his shoulder before he was abruptly thrown back, the former 4th Espada soaring through the air until his back slammed against something hard.
Shaking his head as he reoriented himself, the arrancar noticed that he was now within the confines of one of Freed's traps, as he floated a hundred feet above the lake behind the guildhall.
So Freed's traps can activate even if one remains this high above them. How unfortunate.
He proceeded to read the rules of the barrier, not wanting to fall from some cheap trick. In this instance, the rule was remarkably simple.
"No one within this barrier can empower themselves." The arrancar read aloud before he narrowed his eyes.
So, he was without the use of his resurrección? It mattered little. Most dark mages and members of the guild didn't come even remotely close to his power even without his Resurrección. All he had to do was simply defeat the foe within this barrier before he made his way towards Mirajane. This would be nothing more than a speed bump along the road.
"Can't believe that I'm being forced to fight you of all people. Man this is going to be such a pain."
Ulquiorra's eyes shot wide open before he turned around. Before him was a man with unkempt brown hair that went down his neck, greyish blue eyes, and a faded goatee. A fanged bottom jawbone of sorts lay around his neck, and he wore a white and black outfit not too similar to Ulquiorra's, with a black sash tied around his former fourth Espada recognized him almost instantly. "Coyote Starrk."
This was not good. Fighting Starrk with the use of his Segunda Etapa was already a battle he wasn't sure he could win, the First Espada's own power in Resurrección being one that he had never actually experienced. He could more than likely have defeated the Primara In base with the use of Murciélago, but base to base? Things weren't looking too good for him, and he knew it.
"What are you doing here Starrk?" Ulquiorra bluntly asked his former comrade. "Or the rest of the Espada that have gathered here for that matter?"
Starrk let out an annoyed sigh. "Barragan gathered up the arrancar he could find to make his own guild. Currently he's teamed up with that Emberella woman. Said something about how we'd have complete control over the whole guild once this whole things was over and how it was too good of an opportunity to pass up."
Ulquiorra narrowed his eyes as he began to slowly unsheath his Zanpaktou. "I'm going to give you this one chance. Allow me to defeat you, and I'll make it as painless as possible." Defeating .a straight up battle as things stood was next to impossible. However, his slothy nature was far from a well kept secret. Perhaps if he made the offer…
"Sorry, no can do." Starrk replied as he glanced over towards Ulquiorra. "Trust me when I say this ain't exactly my cup of tea either, but I don't exactly have much of a choice in the matter. So how's about you do me a favor and-"
(Song of choice: Clavar La Espada, Bleach OST)
Before Starrk could finish, Ulquiorra had already used Sonido to appear right in front of him, the arrancar swinging his zanpaktou down at Starrk's head, only for the Primera Espada to swiftly block the attack with his own zanpaktou and parried the attack. Starrk frowned as he pushed Ulquiorra away. "So I guess we're really doing this after all. Man this is gonna be so annoying."
Not bothering with words, Ulquiorra instead chose to report by thrusting his zanpaktou at Starrk at high speed. While almost anyone else would have been completely overwhelmed by the sheer speed that Ulquiorra was using, Starrk looked about as uninterested as ever, casually dodging and weaving through the onslaught with ease.
Starrk finally decided to block Ulquiorra's sword, putting an end to Ulquiorra's assault before he kicked him in the stomach, sending Ulquiorra hurtling down to the ground below. Ulquiorra managed to position himself to land feet first on the ground before he took off, trying to come at Starrk with his Zanpaktou once more.
The sound of clashing blades filled the air, with Ulquiorra trying once more to hand a decisive hit as best he could. Yet each and every single attempt was in vain as Starrk continued to block the attacks with little to no effort.
Frowning in disappointment, Ulquiorra used Sonido to attack Starrk from behind, but Starrk had quickly turned around and blocked the attack. Not willing to give up so easily, the pale skinned used sonido again, this time trying a frontal assault, but Starrk blocked the attack once more.
"Come on, will you just knock it off already?" Starrk asked, clearly annoyed by the whole affair.
"No." Ulquiorra answered before pointing his right index finger at Starrk. The green Cero discharged and hurtled towards Starrk, but the Espada made no indication to move. He simply stood there before a blue glow began to emit around his chest, before a blue cero fired out and almost instantly overpowering Ulquiorra's own.
A cero with no hand gesture? Ulquiorra thought before he used Sonido to just barely avoid the blast. He glanced up at Starrk then, his eyes narrowing. He had always known Starrk was powerful. Lord Aizen wouldn't have given him the rank of Preimara if he wasn't. But for him to be capable of something like that!?
Regardless, it didn't matter. The rest of the guild was counting on him to defeat Laxus and put an end to this charade. Thus he began to use Sonido multiple times per second, hoping to confuse the Priemara Espada.
The pale arrancar appeared to have surrounded Starrk with repeated uses of Sonido, but as Ulquiorra came in for a strike, Starrk was still able to block the attack. Ulquiorra tried again, this time aiming for Starrk's neck, but the first Espada vanished from Ulquiorra's line of sight before he felt a grip on his shoulder before he felt a powerful shove, the arrancar going flying through the air before he finally came to an abrupt stop.
Ulquiorra looked up and tried to place the arrancar, but before he could, the Espada was already above him, his sword swinging down at his head. Ulquiorra just barely managed to block the attack, his knees buckling and his arm shaking from the strike. Starrk simply continued to hold down the sword hard and, much to Ulquiorra's surprise, his own zanpaktou was beginning to crack from the strain!
Still, he had the Espada right where he wanted him, as Ulquiorra pointed his index finger right in front of Starrk's face before he unleashed a cero point blank.
"Hey, come on now. That was a cheap shot. "
Ulquiorra quickly turned around as he saw Starrk looking as nonplussed as he had been during the entire exchange. The arrancar simply scratched the back of his head before he sighed. "I get your probably on an important mission, but let's not kid ourselves here, you-"
Yet once more did Ulquiorra attempt to strike at Starrk as he went in for yet another series of blows with his zanpakuto. Starrk sighed as he ducked underneath one of Ulquiorra's swings before he grabbed onto the arrancar's arm. Ulquiorra tried to wretch his arm free, but it was too late, Starrks zanpakuto slashing right against Ulquiorra's chest, cutting his once pristine white jacket wide open, revealing the nasty slash he had received just below his Espada rank.
"You don't seriously think you have a chance against me now do you?" Starrk asked Ulquiorra. "You're only number four, while I'm number one, remember?"
"Since when did you start to care about the rank you were given?" Ulquiorra asked before he finally wretched his arm free, gazing into the eyes of Starrk. "You were never what one would consider "boastful" despite your rank."
Starrk shook his head. "I'm really not, but you're making this more of a pain than it has to be. Honestly, I'm surprised you're even trying at all. You've never struck me as a man who'd fight a losing battle. So what gives?"
Ulquiorra briefly glanced back towards the guildhall before he brought his full attention right back to Starrk. "Because I'm listening to my own heart's desires."
Starrk's eyes widened slightly, looking at the arrancar with an expression that clearly gave away his confusion. "Really? That seems very unlike you. That guild really means that much to you?"
Ulquiorra shook his head. "The guild itself? No, it's nothing more than a ragtag bunch of wizards who have come together for the purpose of serving under a powerful organization. The concept means absolutely nothing to me. However-"
Visions of what had occurred during his stay flashed through his mind, as he briefly recalled the incident with Loke and the Tower of Heaven as the bonds of Fairy Tail had shined through again and again.
"There are people that I wish to protect. And it is for that reason that I shall continue to fight."
Starrk looked at the pale arrancar before he sighed, closing his eyes. "So that's how it is huh? Well in that case I can't help but sympathize. But like I said-" Starrk's eyes shot wide open then as blue reiatsu began to surge from his body, with all the nearby windows shattering and the street below cracking from the pressure alone. "I really don't have a choice in the matter."
This time it was Ulquiorra's turn to look at Starrk in confusion. What could possibly force someone like Starrk to fight a battle he doesn't wish to take a part of. Surly not loyalty to Baragan, he never served under him to begin with, so then what-
His eyes shot wide open as the realization hit him before his cold expression returned. "Where is Lilynette?" Ulquiorra asked.
Starrk narrowed his eyes. "That doesn't concern you."
Well, that all but answered the question. Clearly the Segunda Espada had done something with the tiny arrancar to force Starrk's hand. More than likely it was probably a hostage situation. Still, if that was truly the case…then it truly did mean words alone would not solve this conflict.
As Ulquiorra's body was enveloped by his own green reiatsu, he glanced over towards Mirajane's location, the arrancar not having forgotten what had him so nervous to begin with. My apologies Miss Strauss, but it seems that you'll have to handle him on your own.
The two arrancar took off towards one another, their blades clashing once more as Ulquiorra glared at Starrk. But it appears that I'll be too busy with my own battle to assist you.
He could only pray that someone else strong from the guild would be able to save her in time.
Pain. That was the first thing Elfman felt as he weakly began to open up his eyes, his vision blurred and distorted.. Unbeknownst to him, it had already been well over an hour since his defeat at the hands of Evergreen. His mind recollecting what had transpired, he weakly turned his head upwards. No, I can't just sit around here! He thought to himself. Come on, be a real man and get up! Mira needs you! However, just as his vision finally came to him completely, he was able to make out the image of his big sister looking down at him with concern.
"Thank Goodness." She muttered as she noticed him slowly open up his eyes, tears welling up around the corner of her own.
Surprised to say the least at her appearance, he weakly managed to speak up. "M-mira? How are you-"
"Don't move, it looks like Evergreen hurt you pretty bad." Mirajane said as she slowly flipped Elfman over onto his back.
Elfman was stubborn as ever, using his elbows to prop himself off of the ground. "I'll be fine, so what happened? Is the battle over?"
Mirajane shook her head. "Liltotto managed to beat Evergreen. Thanks to her, me and everyone else returned back to normal."
Elrman gave her a weak laugh. "Really? That little lady managed to beat Evergreen huh? I guess I really have a long way to go before I can start calling myself a man then, huh?" A part of him felt ashamed that someone else had to do what he couldn't, but he decided to shake it off. He had what he wanted more than anything else anyways.
"I'm just glad you're back to normal." He told Mirajane.
Mirajane's sadness didn't seem to lessen, however. "I'm sorry for everything. I really am," Tears began to fall down her face then as the older of the Strauss siblings began to cry, her shoulder's shaking.
Both confused and concerned for his older sister, Elfman was quick to respond. "What the heck are you apologizing for?" He asked.
"Because I'm just useless now," Mirajane answered sadly, her tears now streaming down her face.. "It's the truth. I'm never able to help you guys out anymore! I'm sorry!"
Elfman shook his head at her words. "No one thinks you're useless, I promise." Slowly getting up and squatting down as he faced Mirajane, he continued. "Your smile lifts everyone's spirits. It makes us think of the good things and forget about all this fighting crap."
His sister began to whimper then as her tears continued to flow, her hands covering up her face. Elfman embraced her in a hug, doing what he could to comfort her. "Come on, sis. Please don't cry."
"Tch, talk about pathetic! And here I thought you Fairy Tail Mages were supposed to be tough!"
The two siblings' broke apart as their eyes shot out of the flower shop where Elfman had fallen unconscious. Only a few feet away from them stood a tall young man with short light blue spikey hair, light blue eyes with green lines running around its corner's and wore a white jacket with short sleeves and white Hakama. Most noticeable of all however, was the jawbone that seemed glued to the right side of his face, and a large clear hole in his abdomen.
Mirajane quickly recognized just what that man was. An arrancar!? Given his tone of voice and the way he was glaring at the two of them, as well as her years of experience as her time as a mage, she was quick to realize that the one before them was more than likely one of the 'Espada' that were assisting Laxus Ulquiorra had informed them about. Her eyes shot over to Elfman as she called out to him with fear in her voice. "Elfman, we need to go!"
Seeing the situation for what it was based off of his sister's reaction, Elfman swiftly picked up Mirajane before he took off running from the shop, the Take Over Mage not allowing his injuries to slow him down in the slightest.
Scoffing in annoyance, the arrancar glared at the two of them before he vanished and reappeared right before the pair with a staticy boom. "Oh, come on now, you're not seriously going to try to run without a fight now are ya? I've been itching for a good fight all day and so far you Fairy Tail losers have been nothing but complete disappointments!"
Elfman grit his teeth as he glared at the arrancar. "Just who the hell are you, anyways?"
The arrancar smirked. "Espada #5, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez."
Realizing now that running away simply was no longer an option, Elfman placed Mirajane down on the ground. "Mira, go back to the guild, now!" He demanded.
Mirajane gasped as she looked up at her brother in horror. "But Elfman, you're hurt! You can't possibly be thinking about fighting him in your current condition!"
"You're damn right I am!" Elfman answered as he prepared to fight. Right now, I don't know if I have what it takes to do a full takeover. Guess I'll just have to go back to the classics then! He thought as he punched his left palm. "Beast Arm: Scale Bull! Beast Arm: Black Bull!" His two arms transformed then, each using a different partial take over. The one on the left appeared to look like a reptilian-like claw, while the one on the left seemed to transform into a black beast's arm.
Grimmjow scoffed at what he was seeing. "Oh, come on, don't tell me that's all you got!" As thing's stood right now, the take over power was only slightly above that of the Average Fraccion's base. "The fight hasn't even started and I'm already disappointed!"
"Oh yeah?!" Elfman said before he took off into a charge. "Then how's about I show you what a real man can do!" He threw a punch with his left arm, the metallic limb slamming right into Grimmjow's chest, but rather than the arrancar bending over in pain, it was Elfman who cried out, his mammalian-like arm, bleeding from the punch.
Grimmjow frowned. "What, you mean to tell me that my Hiero's too tough for ya big guy?" He asked before smacking him with the back of his right hand, the take over mage soaring through the air past Mirajane and crashing right through a lamppost. "Pathetic!"
"Effman!" Mirajane cried out as she tried to run to her brother's aid, but Elfman had already gotten up to his feet before he took off in another charge, his black beast arm transforming once more.
"Let's take things up a notch! Beast Arm, Ironbull!"
His arm now transformed into a metallic limb, Elfman once again tried to punch Grimmjow. His fist slammed into Grimmjow's chest, and while the arrancar didn't budge, Elfman's own hand seemed uninjured. "Yeah, now that's what I'm talking about-Gah!"
Just as Elfman was boasting, Grimmjow had already slammed his knee onto Elfman's stomach, before he then grabbed the mage by his white hair and scowled. "All you've done is just punch me without hurting yourself. Don't think that's going to be anywhere near enough!" This time Grimmjow delivered a punch to Elfman's stomach, the takeover mage coughing out blood as he felt several of his limb's shatter from the blow!
Elfman knelt down from the blow and tried to strike out with his reptilian claw, but Grimmjwo caught the attack with ease and then, just as he gave his foe a nasty sneer, he squeezed his hand hand around Elfman's fingers, breaking his hand.
"Grraaaaaaaaaggggghhhh!" Elfman cried out as he fell to his knees only for Grimmjow to than slam his foot down on the back of Elfman's head, forcing his face to crash right into the concrete below.
"No, Elfman!" Mirajane cried out, her eyes wide with horror. She ran up towards the pair and tried to lift Grimmjow's foot off of Elfman, but the arrancar simply looked at her with disinterest.
"Oh please."
He gave Mirajane a backhand, her blood splattering onto the street as she rolled across the ground. She cried in agony as she felt her face, her nose having been broken from the arrancar's attempt to push her away.
"Tch, dumb broad." Grimmjow spat before he looked down at Elfman. "Now where were we-"
"How…dare…you…" Elfman growled out before his entire body transformed into a great beast, the monster pushing Grimmjow off of him before he got up to his feet before he snarled. "Hurt my sister!"
Grimmjow's scowl transformed into a grin as he felt the power coming off from Elfman, his emotion's making him more powerful than he was when he had fought Evergreen an hour ago. "Yeah, now that's more like it!" Grimmjow replied excitedly.
Elfman charged at Grimmjow before he brought down one of his massive fists at the arrancar, with Grimmjow bringing up his right arm to block the strike before the ground beneath them gave way into a small crater. The arrancar sneered once more as he looked up at Elfman. "Come on, don't tell me that's all you got!?"
"You want all I got?!" Elfman demanded as his anger swelled up. "You'll get it!" The massive beast slammed both of his arms down hard onto Grimmjow, the crater beneath them expanding more and more with each blow before Elfman finally grabbed Grimmjow by his throat and slammed him down to the ground. Letting out a roar of fury, Elfman proceeded to slam his fist into Grimmjow's face, striking at him over and over as if it were a piston as dust filled the air.
"No one hurt's my big sister and gets away with it, do you hear me!? No one!" Elfman declared as he let go of Grimmjow's throat and prepared to slam both of his fists down as hard as he could onto the arrancar. "It's over!"
But just as his two fists struck down at the Espada, Grimmjow's left arm shot up and blocked the attack,, the dust clearing to reveal Grimmjow was completely unharmed. "All that big talk and that's the best you can do?" Grimmjow said as he propped himself up with one hand. "Well, I guess what you did earlier wasn't too bad for a mere human. You were almost as strong as that loser Gantenbein. Too bad for you I'm way stronger than that guy ever was!"
(Song of choice: Soundscape to Ardor, Bleach OST)
Before he even knew what had happened, Grimmjow had tossed up Elfman's arms before he delivered a punch to Elfman's stomach. The beast coughed up more blood as he went soaring out of the crater before Grimmjow used Sonido to appear right above him in the air and delivered a kick to the right side of Elfman's face, crashing him back where they had once been.
Weakly, Elfman began to get up to his feet, the full take over devolving back into A partial one as he wheezed. As Grimmjow slowly floated down to his level, Elfman grit his teeth. Damn it all! I don't stand a chance against a guy like this! Where's Erza when you need her!? He glanced over towards Mirajane, his older sister crying tears as she looked down at him before he shook his head.
No! Mira needs you right now! Elfman berated himself. You gotta do what you can to keep her safe, even if it kills you! Letting out a defiant battlecry, he tried to tackle Grimmjow to the ground, but the arrancar grabbed his face and slammed him to the ground before he lifted him up by his throat and sneered before he punched him across the face. Elfman cried out from the attack before Grimmjow punched him again, and again, and again, the Espada cackling madly as he continued to punch at Elfman seemingly without end.
Blood fell to the ground below Elfman as Mirajane could only continue to watch on helplessly, her face twisted with sorrow. No...Stop it! She despaired as she watched her younger brother get beaten into a bloody pulp. I was right, I am useless! Her mind flashed through the battle with Phantom Lord and when she had discovered what had almost happened to Erza in the Tower of Heaven. Whenever the people I love need me the most, I'm never able to do anything to help. More often than not, they're the ones always looking out after me. I'm so pathetic!
Letting out an ecstatic shout, Grimmjow delivered one last punch to Elfman's face. He looked like a complete and total mess, with a broken nose, two black eyes, and the rest of his body covered by bruises. Grimmjow took a moment to appreciate his work, smirking when the Fairy Tail mage's neck bent backwards as he fell unconscious.
"Well, I guess he was a fun punching bag at least." Holding Elfman aloft with one arm, Grimmjow prepared to spear him through with the other. "But I got better things to do. Time to die!"
Die.
Die.
Die.
Time seemed to slow as the word echoed in Mirajane's mind, her eyes widening. Elfman was going to die? She was going to lose her baby brother, all because she couldn't step up when it mattered the most? Because she couldn't do her one job as the eldest sister?
Just like…Just like…
"I feel… so strange…" Lisanna weakly muttered as she lay on the ground, her eyes almost devoid of life. Her elder sister sat next to her, holding her right hand as tears flowed down in a steady stream. "It's like… I can't move."
"D-don't waste your strength," Mirajane sobbed out, her face contorted with sorrow. This couldn't be happening! This was just supposed to have been a mission where she showed off how strong she was to her siblings! How could it have possibly gone so awry!?
"W-where did you go… Mira?" Lisanna weakly spoke.
"I'm right here," Mirajane responded hoarsely. This couldn't be happening! This couldn't actually be happening! It was taking every ounce of willpower that she had to not cry more than she already had. She had to remain strong for her sister. She wasn't going to die. She wasn't!
"M-Mira…" Lisanna sputtered before she weakly turned her head to face Mirajane as her breath began to slow. "I… I just… want you to know… I…"
Suddenly, her body flashed with a bright light, and before Mirajane even knew what was happening, her sister's body broke apart into motes of light that floated upwards into the sky.
"L-Lisanna?" Mirajane squeaked as she looked down where her sister once lay, her breathing becoming more and more erratic as her emotions spiraled out of control. "Lisanna!?"
But despite how many times she called out her name, despite how much she couldn't believe what had just transpired before her very eyes, and despite how desperately she wanted this to be nothing more than a nightmare, it didn't change the fact that her beloved little sister Lisanna was gone.
"LISANNA!"
(Song of choice: Satan Soul. Fairy Tail OST)
Mirajane's dress and hair began to billow as a bright light began to glow beneath her. Grimmjow's eyes immediately shot wide open before he turned around as he felt Mirajane's power beginning to rise. One minute her power was less than the average hollow, and now it was starting to surpass his Fraccion! The arrancar couldn't help but voice his confusion.
"What the hell?"
Mirajane's tears continued to flow as she wailed despite her power continuing to rise. The pain of that memory, alongside the fear of losing Elfman had consumed her mind as she lay her emotions bare. Her wails of anguish then transformed into a demonic, hellish scream as her voice distorted, as the ground beneath her began to shatter and shot up into the air as her power continued to spiral out of control before a massive pitch black magical circle appeared above her as her entire body began to shroud itself in darkness.
Grimmjow shielded his eyes from the intense light, his feet slowly skidding across the ground. The fuck!? Her power's greater than Szayelaporro's and Zomari's! And this sensation, it's nothing like a human! It's not like a soul reaper, hollow or an arrancars either! It feels like a damn hollow! What the hell is going on!?
Finally the light died down, allowing Grimmjow to slowly lower his arms. The entire street was almost completely totaled, but what really caught his eye was Mirajane. No longer was he looking at the same, pathetic, sobbing wreck that had been there moments ago. She had completely transformed.
For one thing, she now had a black scaly tail and claws. Her white hair stuck up right, and her lips were now covered in lipstick. Her dress had also changed into a far more revealing pink leotard with yellow trim which exposed most of her belly and cleavage, along with leather like boots. But what really, truly grabbed his attention was her eyes. No longer were they filled with fear and sorrow. No, now they were filled with an ice cold, almost soulless fury.
Mirajane, however, simply gave Grimmjow an icy glance before she finally spoke with a cold tone of voice. "I'm going to break you…like a snitsnack bar."
Grimmjow only had one response, his head tilting slightly to the left out of sheer bafflement. "...What?"
BAM!
Grimmjow went soaring through the street, the arrancar looking back at Mirajane in absolute shock after she had delivered a powerful hook across his face before he stopped himself in midair. "What!?"
(Song of choice: Tai Ma Gekisen, Fairy Tail ost)
Before Grimmjow could properly process just what was going on, Mirajane pounced off the ground before she attempted to strike him with her claws. Grimmjow was just barely able to block the attack in time with his left arm, the arrancar skidding across the ground from the force of the blow. He looked at her, completely baffled at what had transpired before he looked at his arm, blood slowly seeping out from the four distinct claw marks from her attack.
Grimmjow's eyes widened before he began to cackle. "Ahahahaha! Yeah, yeah! Now that's what I'm talking about! Now you're actually worth fighting!"
Mirajane pounced once more, with Grimmjow jumping back just in the nick of time to avoid her strike. He immediately went for a counterattack, and slammed his right hand hard into Mirajane's cheek, but while the blow budged her head, it did little else before she slammed her forehead onto his, causing the fifth Espada to fall to the ground as he quickly had to roll out of the way as Mirajane landed where he had been mere seconds ago before he shot upwards just in time to block another punch.
Mirajane prepared to follow up with another blow, but Grimmjow had slammed both of his feet into her stomach, forcing the takeover mage to bend over before he threw a right-handed punch, aimed right at her face. Mirajane however was quick to act and threw one of her own to counter. His sneer somehow increasing even more, Grimmjow followed up the assault with his other hand, Mirajane responding in kind before they began to exchange a barrage of punches.
Grimmjow's sneer never ceased as they exchanged blows, the shockwaves of their attacks shattering all of the windows for several blocks. "Finally! I was starting to think you Fairy Tail wizards were nothing but a bunch of weaklings, yet here you are actually making me try!" Grimmjow yelled. "Come on, let's keep it up! This is just starting to get good!"
He then delivered a quick right-handed hook to Mirajane's face, only for her to catch it in the palm of her hand as she narrowed her eyes. "So, you think this is fun, do you?" Mirajane asked in a low voice before her grip on his hand intensified, her nails digging into his iron skin and drawing blood. "Let's see if you still think that after I'm done with you."
Grimmjow could sense Mirajane's power beginning to steadily increase, his eyes widening once again before she swiftly punched his left check before following it up with her right, the mage repeating the assault. The arrancar cried out before he tried to grab Mirajane's face with his right hand, but Mirajane grabbed the offending arm and wretched it off of her before she grabbed him by both the sides of his head and slammed his face down onto one of her knees, breaking his nose.
"Gah, dumb bitch!" Grimmjow cursed as he attempted to throw another punch, but Mirajane moved her body to the left to dodge the blow. Grimmjow tried once more with his other hand, but like before, Mirajane managed to avoid the attack. Grimmjow growled before he went in for a series of punches, but it was after the fifth attempt when Mirajane ducked underneath the strike and punched him hard in the stomach, knocking him back down the street.
Grimmjow glared at Mirajane as he whipped off some of the blood off of his face and growled. "Alright, let's take things up a notch!"
With a loud static like boom, the Espada vanished from Mirajane's sight before he appeared to her right and kicked her right on the left side of her body. Mirajane skid against the ground before he appeared behind her and slammed his right elbow against the back of her head, knocking her down to the ground before he attempted to stomp on her body, but the takeover mage grabbed his foot and flung him over before she got back onto her feet and dashed towards him.
Hireo clashed with scale as the two went in for an exchange of blows, but whereas Grimmjow was able to land a few hits that did little more than irritate Mirajane, Grimmjow's skin was beginning to get battered and beaten. It seemed as if his heiro simply wasn't up to the task at hand.
What the hell, I'm the one being overpowered!? Grimmjow realized just before he avoided a blow to the face with Sonido before he growled at and used Sonido to deliver another strike to the back of her head, but it appeared that Mirajane had finally acclimated to the technique and she caught the blow with little effort before she spun around and delivered a powerful uppercut, sending him high into the sky.
Grimmjow stopped his ascent before he glared down at Mirajane, the woman still looking at him with those cold eyes. He frowned as he clenched his fists, anger swelling up. "Don't get cocky just because you've powered up a little! I've still got a lot more to give, you hear me!?"
This woman was starting to get on his nerves. Not because of how strong she was, oh no. That's what had made this fun to begin with. No, it was those damn eyes of hers!
Still, he was far from truly concerned. Despite her impressive increase in power the fact remained that he still had a distinct advantage over her. Flight. "Let's see how well you fare all the way down there!" Grimmjow taunted her before he unleashed a bala from his right hand. The attack hit Mirajane square in the chest as she was sent back a bit, before she was hit with several dozen more as the entire road was pelted by the blasts as dust began to kick up and obscured his vision.
Grimmjow smirked as he looked down at the road. "Ha! See, that's what I'm talking about! Still feeling all high and mighty now ya dumb bi-"
Almost instantly did Mirajane burst out from the dust cloud, two large bat wings protruding from her back before she grabbed onto Grimmjow's face and sped off, her hand firmly clenched around his face as the pair quickly soared out of Magnolia.
"Oi, let go!" Grimmjow demanded as he kicked at her stomach repeatedly as they continued to soar through the air, but try as he might, he couldn't get her to release her grip! Recognizing that mere physical blows from his body wasn't going to get the desired results, Grimmjow unsheathed his zanpaktou and swung it at Mirajane's stomach, the blade cutting into her just enough for Mirajane to finally let go of the Espada.
The arrancar panted as he took in his surroundings. No longer were they in the middle of Magnolia's skyline. Now, they were smack dab in the middle of a forest, presumably several miles away.
The Espada grit his teeth in frustration as he pointed his sword at Mirajane, her blue eyes still giving the same look she had since she had transformed, her fury having not dulled in the slightest. Damn those eyes of hers! He shouted internally. That wasn't the look of someone in the middle of a fight to the death, the look of someone who wasn't sure whether or not they'd live or die. No, she could only look at him with disdain. Like she was better than him! Well he wasn't going to have any of it!
"Die."
His eyes shot wide open before he turned around, Mirajane having flown right behind him without him even having the chance to fully realize it! "What!? When did you-"
Mirajane pointed out her left hand at the arrancar, and opened up her palm as a massive magic circle appeared before her as she cried out. "Darkness Stream!"
Several claws of darkness shot out from the circle as they shot towards Grimmjow. In a rare show of concern, the arrancar used sonido to dodge the first claw of darkness as it shot off towards him, then another two as they shot upwards, before he deflected another two with his zanpaktou before he smirked. "You'll have to do better than that! You're not the only one who can-"
However, before he even realized it, Mirajane had snuck up behind him once again, slamming both of her hands against the back of his head as he shot towards the ground. However, moments before impact he was able to use sonido to appear behind Mirajane and he slashed at her back. The zanpaktou slashed into her skin, but the wound wasn't anywhere near as deep as he would have liked and Mirajane spun around and proceeded to kick Grimmjow. He attempted to block with his zanpakou, but she was simply too fast, her kick sending over a dozen feet before he snarled at her with rage.
"Let's see how you like this!" Grimmjow shouted as the palm of his hand glowed red before he unleashed a red cero towards the oncoming Mirajane as the mage had come soaring in for yet another attack. Mirajane's eyes went wide as the attack hurtled towards her, and the mage only had a few seconds to put up her hands in a X-like position before the attack slammed into her.
Mirajane could feel the cero slam into her like a destructive stream. However, while the attack was fairly strong, she still had more to give. She let out a loud scream and tossed the cero upwards where it exploded harmlessly up into the sky. However, just as she had finished deflecting the attack did she hear the familiar sound of Sonido before she spun around and blocked an attack from Grimmjow's zanpatkou with her left arm, the attack having been aimed at the nape of her neck before she swatted him away.
"Damn it!" Grimmjow yelled before he dashed forward in mid air and swung his sword at her repeatedly, with each and every single attempt was stopped by Mirajane's demonic arms, the zanpaktou clashing harmlessly against the scales with little to show for damage. "Damnit, damnit, damn it!"
Grimmjow went in for one last strike with his zanpaktou, but Mirajane grasped it before the attack made contact, cracking the blade. Much to her surprise however,.Grimmjow grinned. The reason for why soon became apparent as he placed his spare hand near the right side of her head as he had already begun to charge up yet another cero. The red blast fired out, but a black burst of magical power shot up around her, blocking the attack and knocking Grimmjow to the ground.
The arrancar shook his head as he got up before he glared at Mirajane, her face still as stone cold as it had been.
Grimmjow snarled before he used Sonido to appear on the same level, his entire body shaking with fury. "Alright, that tears it! I'm sick of you giving me that look!" He grasped the blade's edge with his right hand, cutting two of his own fingers before he pointed his hand at Mirajane as blue reiatsu began to build up in his palm as they began to swirl and distort the space around it.
"You think you're better than me, huh!? You think I can't hurt you anymore or something!? Is that it!? Well, let's see how you can handle a cero that only the Espada can use!" He declared as the energy in the palm of his hand seemed to reach its apex.
"Gran Rey Cero!"
A powerful blast of magical power, greater than even that of the Jupiter canon came hurtling towards Mirajane. Despite her magical power having returned to her seemingly in full force, even she knew that she couldn't hope to withstand such an attack unscathed. Thus, in her attempt to counter the battle and to put an end to it once and for all, she lifted up her left hand as she began to concentrate her magic around her hand, forming into a massive orb before she flung her hand down as the orb fired out into a powerful torrent of magical power towards the Gran Rey Cero.
"Evil Stream!"
The two magnificent torrents of power clashed against one another, and at first the two blasts seemed to be about on par with each other. However, slowly yet surely did Mirajane's attack begin to overpower the Gran Rey Cero, with Grimmjow's eyes widening as her attack began to engulf his own.
"Shit, shit!" Grimmjow cursed as he tried to pour more reiatsu into the attack, but it was too late as Mirajane's attack was now only mere inches away from striking him.
"Shit!"
A mighty explosion shook the entire forest as Mirajane stared down at the mushroom cloud she had just created. She could still sense that the arrancar was still alive, albeit just barely. Still, she highly doubted he had anywhere near enough in him to even hope to turn the tide of the battle now.
The cloud of dust had finally cleared and just as she suspected the Espada was a bloody mess, his entire body covered with wounds and his once pristine white clothes now drenched with his own blood. Grimmjow panted and wheezed as he glared up towards her as his entire body shook from the pain of her last attack. If I hadn't fired a cero at the last second to offset that attack at the last second…She would have killed me!"
He glared up at her for a couple of seconds…before, much to her shock, he began to laugh.
(Song of choice: Power to Strive, Bleach OST)
"Ahahahaha!" The arrancar cackled before he looked back up at her with a crazed look in his eyes. "Well, I'll be damned, you're actually pretty good! I can't believe I've actually found someone who'll force me to go all out!" The arrancar declared before he held his zanpaktou at an angle as he curled his left hand atop the blade's surface. The blade began to turn bright blue, and a gust of wind flowed out beneath him before he raked his hand across the length of the blade
"Grind, Pantera!"
A massive cloud of dust picked up, but it dissipated almost as soon as it arrived, revealing the Espada. Grimmjow's appearance had radically changed, his entire body, save for his head which now had a white headgear on his forehead, and chest, was entirely covered by a tight fitting white segmented armor, and his hands and feet had changed into black claws and paws respectively. His blue hair now flowed out like a mane and his teeth had become jagged and sharp. Large blades shot out by his forearms and calves, and he now had distinctly large cat-like ears. Lastly was a slender, whip-like tail that emerged from his back.
Mirajane's facial expression hadn't changed despite recent transformation, but the transformation was enough for her mind, once filled with nothing but fury, to give way to slight concern. He's completely changed, not to mention his powers skyrocketed. Is this some sort of Take Over magic?
Before she could give the matter any more thought, Grimmjow had pounced off of the ground and appeared right in front of one of Mirajane's before he delivered a powerful swipe with his right claw, sending Mirajane careening away before he dashed after her. Mirajane's back crashed to the ground, the mage groggily shaking her head before her eyes widened as she took notice of the looming shadow of Grimmjow, the arrancar preparing to slash at her with his left claw. She flew upwards to avoid the strike, with Grimmjow striking where she had once been, his claws stabbing into the rocky terrain before she landed and flew towards Grimmjow as she attempted to punch him across the face.
However, the arrancar leapt up into the air and delivered a kick to the side of her head, knocking her back a bit before he charged after her. Mirajane blocked one of the attacks with her left elbow before she went in for another punch, but Grimmjow leaned back and kicked her away before he ran in to strike her with his claws once more. Mirajane flew upwards to avoid Grimmjow's charge once more and aimed her left hand at him as darkness gathered around her palm.
"Darkness Stream!"
Once more did several dark claws fire out towards Grimmjow, but the arrancar's transformation had given him more than just power. He ducked underneath one of the claws before he spun around and blocked another strike with his feet before he pounced off of the shadowy claw and landed atop of another as he continued to nimbly evade the incoming attacks, the Espada leaping from one limb after another to close in on Mirajane .
After one last jump, Grimmjow concentrated reiatsu around his claw, forming a slightly larger claw around his arm and slashed down at Mirajane's chest, his claws cutting into her skin before he followed up by kneeing her chin and sending her upwards into the air before he jumped up above her and slammed both of his feet down on her stomach as Mirajane hurtled into a nearby lake, the she devil sinking into the watery depths.
Grimmjow stared down at the body of water, before he snarled. "Come on, don't tell me that's all you got! This fight is just starting to get really interesting! You better come out and fight unless you want me to go back and hurt more of your friends!"
Water from the late began to defy gravity itself, flowing up in multiple streams. All of it swirled and coalesced before Mirajane's outstretched hands, becoming a maelstrom of magical power as she glared back at him. "All I've got? Hardly. I have a feeling you'll wish it was... but you asked for this!" She fired the raging orb at Grimmjow, the attack hurtling towards the arrancar at high speed. "Evil Explosion!"
The vortex of water slammed into Grimmjow, and erupted into the sky, droplets of water raining down as if it were a rainstorm. Grimmjow was soaking wet from the attack, but he smirked before he broke out into a maniacal laughter. "Yeah, now that's what I'm talking about!" He shouted as he glared back at Mirajane, her eyes as unflinching as ever. "Those eyes, I hate those damn eyes! And that's why you gotta die! "
Grimmjow shot down towards Mirajane, the white-haired mage quickly following suit before they clashed into the air, their claws clutching onto one another's as Grimmjow sneered and kneed her stomach, the blade on his leg going right into her stomach. Mirajane cried out in pain before she grit her teeth through the pain and delivered a punch across his face, cracking his jawbone before Grimmjow followed up with a counter clash of his own, slicing her across the check.
The pair continued to exchange blows before Mirajane kicked Grimmjow down to the ground, but the arrancar landed on his hands and knees and pounced back as he attempted to slash at her face once more, only for Mirajane to stop the attack with one of her arms before she delivered a right hook across his face, then a left. However, as she went in for a third, Grimmjow spun around, his long mane obscuring her vision before he delivered an ax to her head.
Mirajane's head went down to her knees before she snarled and placed both of her hands onto her chest before she calmly uttered her next spell. "Evil Spark." An electric current ran through Grimmjow's body, the Espada crying out in pain before he slashed her across the stomach and delivered a spinning kick to her head, knocking her through several tree's. Mirajane quickly shot out from the destroyed trees, as Grimmjow came running in on all fours before their respective claws clashed.
A massive burst of power erupted from the pair as the forest surrounding them was blown away from the exchange as trees were uprooted and the ground beneath them shattered into millions of pieces. Their feet pressed against the ground as one tried to overpower the other, but they remained in place, neither able to overpower the other.
Mirajane's brow furrowed as she took stock of her situation. Yes, things seemed to have been even at the moment, but it had been two whole years since she had last used this power, and now she was starting to feel the consequences. Her magic was starting to plummet much faster than it had in the past, and at the rate it was going, she wasn't going to last another five minutes.
Grimmjow seemed to have noticed as well, the arrancar sneering. "Not so cocky now, are ya?! I can feel your power starting to slip! It ain't gonna be long now before you're completely spent, and I'll be the one on top! Just do me a favor and don't let that power of yours fade away too soon, otherwise this fight will become really boring!" Grimmjow then let go of Mirajane's opposing claws before he spun around and kicked her to the other side of the crater, her back impacting against the wall before he charged right towards her, his claws poised to strike at her heart!
(Song of choice: Encirclement Battle, Bleach OST)
However, just before he could spear her with his claw, Mirajane's right hand shot out and grabbed around his wrist, the bone beneath creaking from the strain as Mirajane glared at him. "So, you're worried about this fight becoming boring? In that case, how about I spice it up a little?" She replied coldly as her left hand glowed with a bright light. "Explosion Punch!"
The moment her fist impacted against his stomach a powerful explosion engulfed the two of them, forcing Grimmjow to hurtle away before he swiftly landed on his hands and feet and pounced back towards Mirajane. Mirajane quickly flew towards him as claw met claw, a powerful burst of energy erupting around the crater before Mirajane proceeded to tackle him back into the forest, the she-devil forcing the arrancar through several tree's before Grimmjow wretched himself free, jumped behind her and slashed Mirajane behind the back, forcing her to cry out as her blood littered the forest floor.
Mirajane was quick to counter however, picking up one of the many trees she and Grimmjow had managed to dislodge from the ground during their fight, and just as Grimmjow came running in for another strike, Mirajane had swung down as hard as she could, forcing Grimmjow's upper body into the ground before she swung the tree down on him again, forcing him even deeper into the earth.
The ground beneath rumbled as Grimmjow's claws struck out from the earth, grasping around Mirajane's throat as the pair skid across the forest before Mirajane's fists encased themselves in shadow before she began to punch at Grimmjow's stomach repeatedly eventually forcing Grimmjow let go of Mirajane before he delivered a spinning kick across her face and delivered a follow up kick to the back of her head.
At least, he attempted to, as Mirajane brought up both of her hands to block the strike just in time before she aimed both of her palms at Grimmjow as a black orb began to form around her hands. "Demon Blast!"
The attack sent the arrancar high into the sky, Grimmjow groggily shaking his head before his eyes shot wide open as Mirajane had already formed yet another orb in her right hand.
"Evil Shower."
Hundreds of dark bullets hurtled towards Grimmjow, as they blasted up into the sky. Thinking quickly, Grimmjow responded by firing off a volley of bala's towards the attacks. The blue and black volley crashed against one another in the sky, littering it with explosions, but before the dust could clear, Mirajane had already soared upwards and tackled into Grimmjow, sending him even higher into the sky.
Ever the opportunistic fighter, Grimmjow grabbed her white hair and yanked onto it, forcing her head upwards before he prepared to slash across her face, but Mirajane let out a shout before she slammed her forehead onto Grimmjow's before she began to continuously wail on the arrancar with her claws.
After delivering one last painful punch, Grimmjow snarled before he grasped onto both of her hands before he wrapped his tail around Mirajane's neck. Mirajane began to choke as her windpipe was squeezed, her legs kicking about before she placed her right hand in front of Grimmjow's face and blasted him with a small dark blast, forcing his tail to unwind as she followed up with a right hook to the cheek.
Grimmjow snarled as he tried to swipe at her with her claws, but Mirajane moved her head to the left, and then the right to avoid the attacks before she slammed her elbow to the back of his neck, the arrancar crying out before he delivered a kick to the left side of her waist, forcing Mirajane to crash into the ground before she almost instantly flew back up towards him.
However, just as Mirajane came soaring in, Grimmjow pointed his right elbow at the oncoming mage and five dark green stone like darts shot out. Mirajane's eyes shot open as she tried to avoid the attacks, but it was too late, as all five of the dart-like objects slammed into her stomach, forcing her to cough up blood as she crashed into the side of a mountain.
Mirajane gasped and wheezed as she slowly rose up to her feet. That last attack had been particularly devastating. In fact, she was almost certain it had broken a few of her ribs. However, before she could give the matter anymore thought, Grimmjow had already come flying in with a kick. Mirajane dashed to the side to avoid the oncoming attack, with the arrancar Grimmjow sneering at her as he dislodged his foot from the mountainside.
"Oh, so you're still standing? I gotta say, that's pretty impressive." The arrancar then fired off one of the darts behind him, destroying several acres of forest behind him before he continued. "But I know a struggling opponent when I see one. You just took five of those and you're panting like a novice. You got plenty of power, but it's plummeting faster than a rock. Face it, you're at your limit. I'll take a gander and say you haven't been fighting for very long, have you?"
Mirajane shook her head. "No, I used to fight plenty. In fact, I used to be rivals with one of Fairy Tail's best…But those days are long gone. I've long since given up my days as a mage. This is the first time I've bothered to use my power in two whole years."
"What?" Grimmjow replied before he snarled. "You're telling me that this is all because you're just rusty!? Why the hell would you ever stop fighting!?"
"Because my overconfidence got someone I cherished more than anything else killed, and I refused to let that happen ever again," Mirajane answered, her voice filled with disgust. "My pride blinded me to the fact that I wasn't nearly as strong as I thought it was and it cost me dearly. That's why I-"
"You idiot!"
Grimmjow used sonido to slash down across her stomach before he kicked her down to the ground as he glared at her, his face full of anger. "You're telling me that you gave up fighting for something like that!? Bullshit! If someone died because you weren't strong enough, you don't just throw in the towel and give up!"
"What would you know about it!?" Mirajane shouted as she clad herself with darkness before she managed to force Grimmjow's foot off of her before she pushed him up into the air.
"Oh, I don't know anything about protecting weaklings!" Grimmjow shouted as he stared down at her. "But what I do know is if you fail at something because you weren't strong enough, you don't just give up! You get your ass back up and try to get stronger so that never happens again!"
"And what if I don't want to fight anymore, did you ever think of that!?" Mirajane shouted as she flew up into the air as she attempted to strike him with her claws. The espada responded in kind as the two continued to clash in the air, as shockwave after shock wave emitted from each blow. "I'm no longer the person I used to be! I'm only doing this because you forced me!" Mirajane shouted after she punched him on the left side of the face.
"Cut the crap!" Grimmjow responded with a powerful slash to the left side of Mirajane's face. "You're saying you don't want to fight anymore because of what happened to someone else, but look at what's happening now! I almost killed that worthless excuse of a younger brother of yours! You don't get to choose whenever you want to fight or not because you like it or not, because danger lurks around every corner!"
Grimmjow then grabbed one of her hands and began to spin around, whirling Mirajane's entire body through the air before he tossed her through several acres of forest before he soared up into the sky. "You stupid pacifists make me sick! If you want your precious peace to last so badly, if you care about your so-called friends, then you'd do whatever you could to keep them safe! Words and inaction mean jackshit! Far as I'm concerned that makes you nothing less than a worthless coward!"
Mirajane lay on the ground then, glancing across the battered battlefield , her mind superimposing her brother laying there, beaten to an even worse bloody pulp. Mirajane reached towards him then, hand shaking. He was right! It was happening again! First her sister lost to in part because of who Mirajane had been once before, now her brother because of who she had become? "No... No, no, no..." She began to cry out, the truth of the matter finally hitting her.
"Listen to you, whimpering," Grimmjow said from the skies above. "A coward, just as I said. Well, no matter. I'll snuff you out here and now so you can die in peace!" The Arrancar seemed like poetry in motion then, his body moving about in the sky as if he was overjoyed with the absolute thrill of killing, of asserting his dominance. He soared towards Mirajane, Grimmjow picking up so much speed that the air around him boomed again and again as he drew closer.
She could see it then, both his manic smile and his right hand drawing back, and the blow that killed her sister as her mind flashed back for but a moment.
"No!"
Mirajane's own hand reached out then, catching Grimmjow's in mid flight. She glared at the Arrancar, both their arms shaking as they tried to overpower one and another.
"What the hell is this?" Grimmjow asked, glaring at Mirajane.
She looked back up at him then, a smile etching itself upon Mirajane's face. A smile she had not shown an opponent in ages. "This is my way of thanking you. For showing me the truth."
Majin Mirajane had returned.
(Song of choice: The Beautiful Demon, Mirajane. Fairy Tail OST)
Mirajane's power seemed to increase once more before she socked Grimmjow hard across the face, sending the arrancar through a dozen trees. The Espada ground his claws against the ground but just as he did, Mirajane had appeared behind him, a terrifying sneer on her face as she attempted to strike him. Grimmjow quickly turned around and slashed at the claw, the two blows canceling each other out before the pair took off high into the sky!
"Now that's more like it!" Grimmjow shouted as he pointed both of his elbows at Mirajane, firing off ten of his dart like missiles at Mirajane, but the She Devil of Fairy Tail soared through the barrage, avoiding each and every single one of them before she decked Grimmjow hard across the face. Grimmjow responded in kind and kicked her hard onto the chin and empowered both of his claws with reiatsu, as Mirajane's own claws followed his example and engulfed her own in shadow before the pair exchanged blows as the forest below became devastated from the shockwaves of their blows.
Trees utterly eradicated, the lake nearby churned and distorted, and the sky itself seemed to quake as the pair exchanged blows. Finally the two parted, as they prepared their respective ranged attacks.
"Cero!"
"Demon Blast!"
Blue and Black blasts clashed and canceled one another out before the two fighters crashed into one another, before Mirajane slammed her knee into Grimmjow's stomach several times before she tackled him down into the ground below, the two burrowing underground until they Grimmjow fired a cero at Mirajane's face.
The demoness was shot out of the ground before Grimmjow used Sonido to appear right behind her and attempted to kick at her, but Mirajane's right hand reached out and stopped the attack before she slammed her fist into Grimmjow's face, shattering some of his teeth. Snarling, Grimmjow's claws glowed with reiatsu before he slashed her across the stomach before Mirajane grabbed his next strike and smirked.
"So, still having fun!?" She demanded with a sinister smile as she went in for a punch, only for Grimmjow to stop the blow, the arrancar giving her an equally terrifying grin.
"Fun? I'm having the time of my life!" Grimmjow declared as the two of them shot up into the clouds.
The two punched each other as hard as they could across the face simultaneously, their respective grins never leaving their faces before their elbows clashed. Grimmjow attempted to hit Mirajane with one of his leg blades, but Mirajane soared upwards and kicked Grimmjow hard in the stomach, the arrancar crying out before he wrapped his tail around Mirajane before he delivered several spinning kicks across her face before her body shrouded itself with shadow. She let out a shout, the shadows expanding outwards and forcing Grimmjow to release her before she appeared right in front of him and slammed both of her fists down onto his head.
The arrancar went soaring downwards before he righthed himself mid decent before he took off in a dash before he pointed his hands at Mirajane as a volley of Bala made their way towards her. Mirajane however simply smirked at the oncoming attack. "Dark Deflect!"
As the volley of Bala hurtled towards her, Mirajane's left eye glowed before it emitted an energy blast from it, forcing all of the bala to redirect around her. However, Grimmjow had used sonido to appear right above her head as he tried to fire a cero down at Mirajane, the wizard having no choice but to erect a shadow barrier to block the attack before Grimmjow charged through the barrier with his body before Mirajane decked him hard across the face.
Shockwave after shockwave parted the clouds as the two clashed, but despite her newly renewed vigor and strength, Mirajanes' power began to wane once more. She attempted to block one of Grimmjow's strikes, but her hands moved too slow as Grimmjow slashed her downwards from head to stomach. Mirajane then tried to swing out with a kick, but once more did Grimjow evade the attack, his right foot kicking the side of her face before he slashed downwards on her face.
Mirajane continued to futilely defend herself, but at each and every turn Grimmjow continued to outmaneuver her. However, as Grimmjow went in for another strike, Mirajane clasped onto the strike before she grabbed his other claw to prevent an incoming strike as the arrancar's breath began to slow down. It seemed that she wasn't the only one beginning to get exhausted from this confrontation.
Finally, after several dozen or so exchanges, the two panted as they glared at each other before Grimmjow lashed out at Mirajane with a burst of Sonido, appearing behind her and wrapping his tail around her stomach before he kicked her. Mirajane cried out in pain before she flexed her muscles enough to break free before she kicked Grimmjow across the face. However, just as she kicked him, Grimmjow grabbed her right leg before he threw her downwards.
Mirajane stopped herself mid decent, but the moment she managed to relocate Grimmjow, her eyes shot open as his reiatsu skyrocketed, his two hands outstretched before him.
"Well, it's been fun, but we're both about to reach our limits, so I say it's about time we put an end to this properly once and for all!" From his hands shot out ten massive blue blades composed of reishi, as the Espada smirked. "Desgarrón, my strongest technique! Once I hit you with this, it'll be all over! Oh, and if you even think about dodging it, then your entire town will be toast!"
Her eyes shot wide open before she turned around and gasped. He was right, while Magnolia was far, far away, it was still within eyesight! If he really threw that attack at that angle-
"Now take this!"
The espada swung both of his arms as the reiatsu blades shot downwards at high speed. Knowing that the attack would absolutely devastate her hometown, Mirajane proceeded to concentrate all of the magic she had in between her hands as she held them next to her head, forming into a spherical vortex before she flung the attack forward, unleashing an absolutely massive blast of dark energy.
"Soul Extinction!"
The blades met with the blast and the ground beneath them shattered into a massive creator as the surrounding tree's bent and uprooted themselves as if they were in the middle of a powerful tornado.
For the first thirty or so seconds, it seemed as if the attacks were equal, neither one overpowering the other, much to Grimmjow's surprise. "What the hell!? You still had this much power in you!?" The arrancar remarked in surprise.
"It's not about power," Mirajane responded as her eyes glared into Grimmjow's as her blast began to slowly increase in power. "It's about resolve! You're fighting for nothing more than the sheer pleasure of it. Admittedly, thanks to you I've reawakened that part of me, but I fight for things far more important than that!" Her eyes closed then, as her mind filled with those she had come to cherish over the years.
There was Natsu and Gray of course, alongside Cana and Levy, and even her old rival Erza smiling at her as she recalled serving each and every single one of them a drink or two, but even it's newest members, such as Ulquiorra, Bambietta and Lucy and the others came to mind. Despite her apparent usefulness having come to an end quite some time ago, none of them seemed to view her any less for it. They all saw her the exact way that she saw them, As members of her family.
But last, and certainly not least…were her siblings.
"I Know almost everyone else in the guild sees you as Majin Mirajane, but to me, you'll always be my big sis Mira!" Lisanna said with a smile.
"No one thinks you're useless, I promise." Elfman spoke as he slowly got up from his loss from Evergreen." Your smile lifts everyone's spirits. "
"I won't lose. I refuse to!" Mirajane cried out as her blast continued to grow in power as her emotions swelled. "I'm going to live, I'm going to get stronger, and stronger, so that what happened to my little sister won't happen to anyone else in this guild ever again!"
With that last declaration of her desire to achieve victory, Mirajane's blast increased in volume before it completely overtook Grimmjow's Desgarrón, the shadowy blast hurtling towards the arrancar, his eyes going wide before the blast made contact. The entire sky seemed to be bloated out with darkness as a massive explosion, greater than that of an atomic bomb erupted above the forest, the shockwaves so powerful that they could be felt even as far away as Magnolia. When the massive wave of darkness dissipated, Mirajane's takeover completely gave way, the takeover mage crashing to the ground. She groaned in pain from the impact before she weakly managed to get up to her feet before she tried to locate Grimmjow.
I used up every bit of magical power that I had with that last attack. Mirajane thought. If he's still standing after all of that….I'm as good as dead.
But as luck would have it, her eyes quickly spotted the arrancar, his Resurrección having faded entirely as he laid on the forest floor. He was completely unconscious, though the rise and fall of his chest seemed to indicate that he was still alive.
Slowly, a smile managed to form around her face before the Take Over Mage fell onto her back. Finally, finally…it was over. Weakly, she looked over towards Magnolia as she closed her eyes. Sorry, everyone. It looks like I used up too much magic to be of any more use for this battle. But I promise, once this is all over…I'll train myself to be a proper S class mage once again.
It was the least she could do after all, to keep them all safe and sound.
As the battle of Mirajane and Grimmjow had wrapped up, Ulquiorra and Starrk were staring, wide eyed at the destruction the two of them had witnessed off the outskirts of Fiore.
"That's one of your comrades?" Starrk asked, his face filled with surprise. "I didn't think I'd ever see a human beat an Espada…though honestly, I'd say her power feels anything but human."
Ulquiorra had to silently agree with that assessment with a nod as he stared out towards Mirajane's location. Given how Elfman's power was plummeting before her own magic skyrocketed, it seems her heart has given her the strength she needed to overcome her own mental barriers.
While it was undoubtedly true that her heart had been what had led her to abandoning fighting in the first place, a choice that no doubt made the battle much harder for her as a result, it appeared that same heart was what allowed her to overpower Grimmjow's ultimate technique, her last attack having been completely even with the fifth Espada's before her power increased for one last final time.
It appears that I still have very much to learn about what it means to have a heart. Ulquiorra thought as Starrk continued to look on in the distance before he lazily looked at Ulquiorra over his shoulder.
"So, are we done here? Because I'm totally down with relaxing for a,bi-"
Ulquiorra had used Sonido to try to strike at Starrk behind the back of his neck, the Primera Espada managing to block the attack with his zanpaktou with ease before he sighed. "Of course we're not. Figures."
Ulquiorra however simply narrowed his eyes at Starrk. It seemed he was going to have quite the uphill battle. It appears that I'll have to leave the matter in your capable hands…Miss Scarlet and Miss Basterbine.
Bambietta's own eyes were completely wide like saucers as she had just finished decking another dark mage in the face as she looked towards the outskirts of the town. "W-was that Sexta Espada? Was that Mirajane!?" Bambietta had always heard that Mirajane had been a former S class mage, and after seeing that…well, it made one thing very apparent to the quincy.
"Man, I have a lot of catching up to do," She muttered before she looked back at the terrified dark mages trapped in the Jutsu Shiki with her. "Oh, right. I still got you guys to deal with."
"She's taken down fifty of us and she hasn't even used any magic yet!" One of them cried out in fear.
"She's a monster, an absolute monster!"
Bambietta chuckled. "Oh, come on now, I'm not such a bad gal. I'm actually really nice once you get to know me. Well, at least as long as you're not a hollow or a dark mage anyway. Oh wait, that's right!" She said before she followed up with a terrifying grin. "You're dark mages!"
She then gleefully charged into battle once more, her sword drawn as the dark mages cried out in utter horror.
Well, I certainly hope that chapter was entertaining enough for you all. Like I said, I put a lot of hard work and effort into this, so I hope that you all were able to enjoy this fight. Really looking forward to the reviews this time around.
However, there is probably another power scaling question that needs to be addressed, so I'll do so here. I know that a lot of people even to this day debate who was stronger between Starkk and Ulquiorra. I've heard and seen lots of interpretations, so I figure now is the time for my to place my own.
Etapa Ulquiorra
2. Resurrección Stark.
3. First Resurrección Ulquiorra
4. Base Stark
5. Base Ulquiorra.
I'm aware that one can make arguments for Ulquiorra having a higher base stat than Starrk due to his performance against Urahara, as well as some narrative arguments, but I personally attribute this as 'Early installment weirdness'. Hell, even Ulquiorra's hollow hole moved later on. Just know that while I think Ulquiorra is stronger, I believe he needs Segunda Etapa to do so.
I'm not an expert power scaler, just know this is how I see things for AQFT.
With that in mind, here are the MPF's of the chapter.
MPFS:
Elfman (Two arm Take over) 1000
Elfman (Full take over, tired) 2000
Clone Grimmjow (Base) 3200
Clone Grimmjow (Gran Rey Cero): 4400
Ulquiorra (Base): 5500
Mirajane (Satan Soul, enhanced by emotions): 5850
Clone Grimmjow (Pantera): 6400
'Majin' Mirajane: 6500
Starrk (Base): 10,500
Once again, thank you all for the support, and I eagerly await your review for this chapter. Take care!
