Chapter 25: Facing the Past Part 2: Rage and Growth
F
Earlier before, Chelsea was taken in by Barbara Oarburgh, due to her recon skills and cunning.
Loris and Meela were the first ones to meet her when she was first brought to Merraid's manison's balcony. "Whoa, sis, we got another girl on our team!"
"She's so cute!"
Before Chelsea could react, the twins embraced her tightly causing them all to fall on the floor. "She's so cute!"
"Yes, big sis!"
"C'mon, cut that out!" Chelsea cried comically.
"She's got soft and smooth skin!" Meela cooed in a seductive matter.
"Perhaps, we can teach her to love girls," Loris suggested with a sneaky smile.
"Alright, that's enough," Barbara was approaching while clapping her hands. "Now you two, you two will be going on another mission, and this one requires your skills, not only that, the two of you will team up with another group for a while."
"Granny, do we have to do it now?" Loris pouted.
Barbara just smiled. "Don't worry your little heads, just make to complete this mission and then come back to us." She then gave them a scary serious expression. "Understood?"
"Okay!" The twins replied in a cheery tone despite the serious expression. "One more thing..." The twins stopped and glanced at their leader. "Don't get caught in the mission, otherwise you won't live to see another day."
"Understood, Granny Barbara!" Loris and Meela soon left the room.
Chelsea got up and rubbed her head. "Jeez, they're quite straight forward I see."
Barbara cleared her throat. "Anyway, I take it that you're Chelsea, I have some members that you'll work with from now on, however, you'll be going on a mission that requires your skills as a recon."
Chelsea nodded. "Yes, ma'am."
As the days became months, she became friends with Taeko and met the other Oarburgh Clan members. Each of them was weird in their own way, but regardless they were still friends.
One night she and her group were currently occupying an inn. It served as a base of operations for their next mission. They all turned in for the night early to get a head start on their mission. However, some time passed, and Chelsea opened one eye and made sure Taeko and Babara were fast asleep. She soon found something of interest and picked up a rather large stick. Chelsea then swung the stick around while making whooshing sounds. "I am Taeko Oarburgh. I am a super badass swordswoman from the Oarburgh Clan."
"What are you doing, Chelsea?"
Chelsea jumped as she screamed quietly dropping the stick and quickly turned around to see Taeko standing behind her. She was rather flushed with embarrassment. "T-Taeko, when..." She sighed in defeat. "H-how long were you standing there?"
"Long before you made whooshing sounds saying I am and I quote "a super badass swordswoman from the Oarburgh Clan'." I followed you soon as you left the room. So, mind telling me why you're up when we have a mission tomorrow?"
Chelsea felt slightly more embarrassed now. She'd joined the Oarburgh Clan several months ago and couldn't believe she ended up with Babara Oarburgh. However, she was also joined by Babara's granddaughter, Taeko, who Chelsea thought could lighten up a little, and once she saw Taeko in action, she quickly became someone she respected. I'm just trying to have some fun is all and..." She looked away from the other girl and pushed her two index fingers against each other. "Pretending to be you." She did an inner facepalm as soon as she said those words.
Taeko remained stone-faced, despite her ally's explanation. "Pretending to me, why would you do that?"
Chelsea groaned as she knew she was digging this hold she was in deeper. "Because I think you're cool, okay!" She yelled with a furious blush. "I mean, you were trained by Granny longer, and you could do all sorts of cool things and moves. You don't even hesitate when you need to be serious."
Now Taeko understood the other girl. "I see, it's admirable you see me in such a way, but remember what Grandmother said, we all have our strengths and weaknesses. You possess an Imperial Arms, something I don't have and can go behind enemy lines so we can attack them at their weakest point and your kill count is quite substantial. Grandmother wouldn't have taken you under her tutelage if you were someone common. She sees great potential in you."
While Taeko had some good points, Chelsea still felt inferior to her ally. "Yeah, but, there's still always the chance I could be discovered. Once that happens, all I can do is run."
"Do you want to fight?"
Chelsea laughed at the question. "You know I'm not built for combat, only you and Granny along with the others can. Though, I think it'd be kinda cool if I could fight."
"Then how about we start now?" Chelsea saw Taeko draw her sword and point it at her. "Well, what do you say, Chelsea?" The wind blew softly through them as Chelsea stared at Taeko in bewilderment.
F
Taeko's information of Granny Babara and the rest of the Oarburgh's downfall was by Akame and her Elite Seven group. She continued to stare at Akame in disbelief. Her memory came to the part where she first heard of their deaths. "Taeko and Granny are dead, how the hell is that possible?"
"It is rather quite unfortunate," Merraid spoke. "Babara was renowned for her skills as an assassin and poor, poor, Taeko. It's such a shame someone as young as talented as she met her end with Babara. In the end, in this kind of work, even they are not exempt from death. The same goes for all of us, I suppose you can say they simply weren't good enough."
From that moment on, Merraid's words were encased in Chelsesa's mind. She was right, Taeko and Granny were strong fighters, but, they died because they weren't good enough. She remembered using the same words about Bulat and Sheele. She did like Night Raid and didn't want the same thing to happen to what happened to her previous team, especially Taeko, and Babara. Or so she thought, who knew the person that killed Taeko was someone she fought alongside all this time and she was part of the group who killed the Oarburgh Clan. Akame shared her expression as she was just as surprised as Chelsea was. "Chelsea, I-"
Akame didn't get a word in as Chelsea grabbed her by the collar tightly. Akame had never seen the other girl so angry before. She was harsh back when spoke about Bulat and Sheele's history but that was only because she was worried. "Akame, is it true, what Taeko said, did you and your group kill the Oarburgh Clan including Taeko!?"
Akame closed her eyes out of regret and gritted her teeth. "Yes." There was a sense of regret in her voice, though Chelsea didn't notice it, however, Leone could see it.
Chelsea's grip on Akame's collar tightened further and growled at her teammate. "Then, you were there, were you? At the Hakurou River where we tried to ambush this group, we were hired to kill, but the group Taeko, Granny, and me met up with were killed and it was around the Toushi Town where they were killed. Do those names sound familiar to you?"
Akame's eyes opened wide as she was familiar with those names. "You... were there?" She had no idea that she and Chelsea were close to meeting each other and yet never have.
Chelsea's breathing became heavy. "Taeko...Babara Oarburgh...I was part of that group and I was with them. I trained under Babara and Taeko was one the most incredible people I've known. Hell, there were times where you reminded me so much of her, and now that I know the person who was able to kill her and she's part of the same group who was responsible for killing Babara and the Oarburgh." She is close to summoning her needles and stabbing Akame in her vitals.
While Chelsea was confronted, some of the people in the other liked what they were seeing. Pony was one of them. "Ooh, are they going to fight each other?"
Gin crossed her arms under her breasts. "It'd certainly make things easier for us."
Mashorio couldn't help but grin, she had to slightly agree with Chelsea, she wanted revenge on the group that killed her lover and it seems Chelsea was going to do it for her.
Gozuki was more interested in how there was still one member of the Oarburgh Clan left alive. "So, one member survived, she must've had the devil's luck on her side to escape our intel." Ibara laughed at the fact.
Merraid just giggled at Gozuki's words as she was honestly happy to see Chelsea again. "It seems sending Chelsea away proved to be the right decision after all, however, I didn't expect her to be on the same team as Akame. As Taeko said before, this is quite the ironic twist of fate."
Anger seething out of Chelsea, she had nothing else on her mind but to make Akame pay for taking her former team away from her. Nothing else mattered to her now. She didn't care what Akame had to say and she would make her pay.
Suddenly a hand came out of nowhere and slapped her, surprising Akame and the rest of the group. Leone immediately grabbed Chelsea's wrist.
Chelsea recovered from the mere slap and growled at the blonde. "Leone, what the hell are you doing?"
"I should be asking you that too!" Leone yelled back.
"Akame killed Taeko and her group killed Granny and the rest of the Oarburgh Clan! Yeah, sure, I don't care as much for Merraid and the others, but it still doesn't change the fact I was with them!" Again, Chelsea failed to notice the remorse on Akame's face.
"And what, you think killing Akame will make you feel better?"
"You don't get it!" Chelsea screeched. "Taeko, and Granny, they meant everything to me. Granny was incredible and I looked up to Taeko. I was even jealous because of what an incredible fighter she was and both were killed not because they weren't strong but because they weren't good enough!"
Hearing those words reminds me of what Chelsea said about Bulat and Sheele, despite the harsh advice, she was only looking after the Night Raid and Fairy Tail out of concern.
"Chelsea..." Leone's expression softened a little before narrowing her eyes at the other girl. "You're right, I don't get it. I don't know Taeko or this grandma of yours and I don't know what kind of history you have with Akame all of a sudden. However, I know this isn't the time. You seemed to have forgotten what's going on, we're in the middle of a goddamn war, and our first master is in the hands of Zeref now who'll get the Fairy Heart out of her body. If he gets hands on it, we're all screwed not to mention the entire world will be. Mavis is counting on us to save her. Most importantly, we have to finish this fight for our friends, I think that's more important than the little temper tantrum you're having right now. If you want to settle things still, then do it later once this war is over."
Mavis was the reason why all of them were there, She remembered how she was saved by Elfman and Mirajane. Tatsumi's friend Sayo was reborn as a Demon and used her power to awaken her from a coma state and even remembered the fun times she had with Night Raid. More importantly images of the Straw Hat pirates and their smiles including Fairy Tail flashed into her mind. Once she was calm, she sighed. "You're right, we need to stop Zeref and save Mavis. That should be our top priority, but..." She looked over at Akame. "We're not done with this, Akame. When this is over, we'll settle things between us, got it?"
Akame sighed and nodded at Chelsea. "Of course."
Leone laughed as she grinned. "There we go, we're getting somewhere, so, our first course of action..." She and the others looked at the other group. "Is getting through these assholes."
Tsukushi felt rather disappointed their skirmish was over now. "I guess they're done fighting with each other then."
Gilberda grinned as she cracked her knuckles. "Fine by me, It'd be fun taking them all on."
Mashiro didn't care as long as she can kill the person that killed her remaining group and her lover, after she deals with Akame, she'll go after the rest of the Elite Seven.
Leone and the others stared down at the other group. "So, does anyone have a plan for dealing with these guys, the odds are stacked against us."
"More than you think," Akame spoke. "They all have powerful weapons and abilities. If we fight them all at once, I doubt we'll have enough strength to help Natsu and the others fight the army that's ahead, much less to fight Zeref, the remaining Spriggan Twelve members, and saving Mavis."
Leone knew Akame had more to say. "But..."
"But I believe I know how we can even the odds a little, but we'll still be outnumbered, though."
Leone scoffed at that. "Hey, I'll be taking anything at this point, what is your plan?"
Gilbereda growled as she was becoming antsy at this point. "What's taking them so long, I want to get fighting soon."
Loris and Meela were getting all pouty. "Man, sis, I'm getting bored."
"So am I."
Cassandra had similar thoughts. "Nothing is stopping us from attacking them."
Weneg's Jackal ear twitched as he heard something interesting. "It seems she's giving them information about us and saying something about using the flames' light to divide the shadows."
"The flames..." Natala looked around the surrounding area, with no flames in sight. "What does that even mean?"
Gin had about enough of waiting. "Who cares, let's kill them already!" Gilberda couldn't agree more and they started to move toward Akame and the others.
"Leone now!"
Leone grinned as she raised her right arm. "On it!" Her arm transformed. "Partial Beast Take-Over: Flaming Stream!" The arm gathered flames and she pointed at the air creating a bright light from the scorching flames and blinded Gin, Gilbereda, and everyone else in the group as they all shielded their eyes from the bright light. "Through the light, they saw three shadows going in different directions.
Gilberda and the others aw and she growled. "You're not getting away!" She and some others chased one shadow while the others chased the second shadow.
The light soon faded away and now there were a few people present. "Out of the three from Akame's group, only remained her. "I knew you would be the ones who'd remain."
Across from Akame, she saw Gozuki, Mashiro, Ibara, Zanku, Weneg, Meela, Loris, and Merraid. "Clever little strategy, Akame, however, do you still believe you can fight us all at once?"
Akame's response was pointing her Murasame and her katana sword at her former father and the others. "We'll see, won't we?"
Ibara chuckled evilly. "I can't wait to get back at you for killing me, once I do, I'll go after your Fairy Tail buddies."
Zanku gave his traditional insane grin. "It'll be delightful to fight you again, Akame."
Weneg was looking forward to seeing how much Akame had improved since their last quarrel. "Show me, the power that you have now, the sister of my lost bride."
Mashiro glared her eyes at the former empire soldier. "I'll make you pay for what happened to my lover and my team."
Loris and Meela prepare their knives. "Yep, we'll enjoy killing you, we'll probably go after your blonde friend and these Fairy Tail losers too."
"Couldn't said it better, sis!"
Out of all of them, Merraid was the most excited to fight Akame. She felt her heart flutter once more at the thought. "Akame..." She spoke in a dreamy voice.
Akame vs, Zanku, Mashiro, Loris, Meela, Weneg, Ibara, Gozuki, and Merraid.
"Hey, Akame!" Akame turned around and her enemies looked in the direction where the voice is coming from.
Luffy was coming her way and he wasn't alone, Brook, Rena, and Jula were with them.
Leone kept running with her pursuers behind her. She could've left them in the dust but she followed Akame's plan. Separate them into different groups and take them out. So far, it seemed to be working. Once she gained enough distance, she stopped and turned around. "This should be far enough." She saw the people who chased after her. "So, who wants to go first?"
Leone's chasers stopped and they stared her down. "So, we're going to fight you then, I'm game, since you're so hot," Guy commented.
Gilberda licked her lips as she eyeballed Leone and grinned. "I can't wait to have some fun with you. It's been a long time and I'm pent up." Leone knew exactly what she meant. "So, she's like Bulat in a way."
"So, you're friends with Akame, huh?" Cornelia spoke. She knew Leone would be a strong opponent to face.
"Are you sure it's a good idea to fight us with only one arm?" Natala asked.
Leone shot them a confident grin. "One is all I need to take you pukes down, after all, as Akame's best friend and big sister, I can't let her down."
Hearing that got Green a little curious and took a step forward. "Since you know Akame, I'd like to ask you how you met her?" Before Leone could answer, a voice rang out from behind her. "Hey Leone, my love!"
Upon hearing that, only one person could make that kind of call. The other group looked in the direction the blonde was looking back at. Coming in their blonde's direction, was Sanji twirling towards the blonde and he wasn't alone. Behind him were Nami, Robin, and Franky.
Leone vs Green, Guy, Natala, Cornelia, and Gilberda
Finally, Chelsea ran as fast as she could while breathing heavily. Never did she think she'd be grateful for all the running training she did with Wendy and the rest of Lamia Scale including Leone and Akame. Half of her thought she couldn't believe she was following orders from Akame, the girl who killed Taeko. But, she was right about handling their opponents. Divide and conquer which was the best chance of winning this fight. She stopped running to catch her breath and save her energy for the fight. She turned around and saw who she was against. She sighed and groaned mentally. "Great."
Chelsea vs Pony, Tsukushi, Cassandra, Gin, Najasho, and Taeko
Pony grinned confidently at her enemy. "Stopped running away, huh, you're ready to fight us, huh?"
To Cassandra, Chelsea and fighting didn't seem to match up too well, considering she was only for recon. "Chelsea fighting, that's not her specialty, as far I can remember she only could run away when she was discovered."
"Is she not a fighter?" Najasho asked.
"She isn't," Taeko answered. "As Cassandra said, fighting wasn't her specialty, and was only able to run when she was discovered."
Before their conversation went further, Chelsea felt a few presences coming from behind her, though, they weren't hostile and she turned around which caught her opponents' attention as well.
"Hey Chelsea, over here!" Usopp was riding on Chopper(in his walk-point form)with Zoro behind.
"Looks like the copycat is here."
Chelsea, glad you're okay!"
Najasho narrowed his eyes at the new people. "Looks like we got new enemies."
Chelsea turned around but didn't move from her spot. "Zoro, Usopp Chopper, what are you doing here?"
"We just left the forest and we eventually met up with Luffy, Brook, and Sanji, they explained the situation," Zoro answered who jumped off Chopper's back. "Luffy was found by Aquapad and his friends after we met up out of the forest."
Usopp jumped off the reindeer's back. "Before we stepped on the field, We saw a stream of fire. Luffy, Sanji and Zoro sensed three presences running in different directions. Luffy met Aquapad and only two of his friends decided to assist in the fight in the direction where the Fairy Tail guild is, so, basically, the ones with Luffy is Brook, Rena, and Jula. Zoro had us come in this direction, while Luffy went in Akame's direction and Sanji went over to Leone's location."
Gin was quite puzzled about what was going on. "What the hell, do they know Chelsea?"
Cassandra was disgusted at the sight before her which was that her former teammate was talking to men. "To think Chelsea is talking with such beasts, I can tell the one with scar is like bloodthirsty beast."
Najasho had to agree, he carefully observed Zoro and the scar on his eye. "He seems like a worthy opponent." It wasn't just his aura he sensed that told him so, the scar on his left eye was a giveaway.
Chopper eventually returned the small point form which Pony was surprised. "Did he just change size..." Though after she gave the small animal a quick scan, her face became flushed. "He's...so...cute..."
Chopper quickly heard the girl briefly but before he could respond he was embraced like a teddy bear. This caused Chopper to wave his arms up and down comical. "Mmm...mmm...mmm!" He screamed in a muffled tone. "Such a cute little raccoon dog!"
Hearing that made Chopper frustrated as he tried to speak but his face was completely in the girl's chest.
Najasho was getting annoyed. "Hey, Pony, enough of that!" Pony giggled awkwardly and looked a bit pouty as she gently put down Chopper. "Sorry, raccoon dog."
"I'm a reindeer, antlers see!" Pony and Tsukushi were silent for a moment.
Najasho's eyes widened which was unlike him.
Taeko couldn't believe what she just heard. "Holy...the raccoon dog just talked!"
"I'm reindeer, you idiot!" Chopper barked with shark teeth.
"Enough!" Najasho yelled recovering from his unusual shock. "Anyway, are you friends with Chelsea?"
Zoro decided to answer that. "So what if we are, what's it to you?" Najasho narrowed his eyes at the green-haired man, he caught a glimpse of his swords and so did Taeko. "If that's the case, then, you'll have to face us," Najasho replied taking out his dragon sword.
Usopp and Chopper got nervous. "Whoa, is that sword?"
"He must be a swordsman like Zoro."
Zoro smirked. "That's quite a sword you got there, this should be good."
Taeko thought this could be interesting. "If you insist on fighting, then we'll fight all of you."
Zoro had no problem with that. "I'm game, you guys will wish you never crossed the Straw Hat Pirates."
Taeko raised an eye brow. "Straw Hat Pirates?"
Cassandra glared at the green-haired swordsman. "Such bloody thristy beast
Usopp and Chopper were frightened as usual. "Looks like we're fighting."
"Y-yes looks like it." In a split second, they hid behind Zoro. "Zoro will protect us!"
"That's right!"
Cassandra wasn't impressed. "So, the small beasts decide to hide behind the big beast, quite predictable and pathetic."
"Looks like we're only getting two opponents, what a shame," Gin shrugged. "No matter, I don't fight cowards."
Chopper and Usopp were slightly offended by that. As much as they are scared, they didn't want to be known as cowards. "Guess we got to fight."
Chopper nodded. "I suppose so, let's get this over with." He transformed into his Kung-Fu Point form. "Kung-Fu Point!"
Pony was taken by surprise at that sudden transformation. "So, the raccoon dog can change his size, impressive."
Gin rested the blunt side of her weapon on her shoulder. "Even so, Chelsea can't fight, so, let's finish her off first then we go after her friends."
Chelsea didn't want to get the pirates involved. "Zoro, Chopper, Usopp, please, go on, the first master needs your help, I can handle things from here."
Usopp and Chopper were puzzled at her suggestion, but Zoro didn't budge an inch. "Chelsea, you forget we're not members of Fairy Tail, so, we don't have to go and save her unless our captain tells us to, and on top of that, Mavis told us we can do what we want. So, no matter what you say, we won't leave."
Chelsea would continue to argue, but, after the serious words left Zoro's mouth and she hated to admit, but, she didn't want to get on the Straw Hats' bad side, so she had no choice but to let accept the fact they were here to help her.
Usopp took out his Arsenal, rather slingshot. "Guess I'll show these guys the power of the Sniper King." Tsukuski saw the long-nose man's weapon. "Is that a slingshot...no...it's not like any ordinary one." She didn't know why, but despite the guy's cowardness, she could tell he was probably good a sniper.
Tsukushi took a few steps towards Usopp. "I see you're a sniper..." Usopp saw the girl approaching him as she took out her sniper weapon. "Well, I'm a sniper too." Usopp was quite intrigued by the sniper she was using. "Well, then, I suppose this will be a battle between snipers."
Tsukushi smiled. "Yes, though, I doubt your puny weapon is nothing compared to Prometheus, this weapon fires a bullet that can change direction." Usopp slightly gulped at that detail. "So, even if you manage to dodge it, then, the bullet will chase you down until it finally shoots you down."
Usopp could tell this wasn't going to be easy. "She's a bit more scary than Nami." He put his goggles on. "Since I'm up to this challenge, I'll allow you the first move."
Tsukushi just giggled. "Trying to die so quickly, fine, I would like to see how far you can when the bullet I fire chases you until it reaches." She took a shot and fired the bullet.
"Whoa, talk about accurate!" Usopp barely dodged the bullet but he wasn't out of the woods yet. "Yaaah, the bullet is chasing me!" He comically screamed.
"Jeez, does he freak out a lot?" Tsukushi groaned slightly disappointed that she might've overestimated the long-nose man. "Either way, I need to finish him off and deal with those other guys." She continued to fire more bullets.
"Like hell, I'll let a female sniper outshine me!" Usopp declared.
Pony and Gin nodded at each other. "We'll back you up."
Chopper confronted the two girls. "If you want to get to Usopp, you'll have to deal with me."
Cassandra readied her knives. "I'll enjoy slicing your flesh."
Gin just grinned. "I admit your transformation did surprise me, however, it'll take more than that to scare us."
Pony didn't know why, but the reindeer's aura was mysterious, though, she could tell it was strong, but not as strong as Guy and Green's aura. "What a shame, I have a soft spot for cute animals, but, I have to kill you."
Chopper began to do his happy dance. "Call me cute isn't going to make me happy you jerk!"
"You look happy," Pony and Gin spoke with a sweatdrop.
Chopper put his hand out and the other sideways. "Anyway, let's dance!"
Gin had a question. "Tell us, what is your name, reindeer." Chopper smirked. "My name Tony Tony Chopper, I'm a doctor and member of the Straw Hat Pirates."
Pony was intrigued. "A reindeer doctor, interesting." She had a question of her own . "Tell us, do you meet Akame?"
"That's right, she's my friend," Chopper replied. "She's a good cook, she makes a meat, but, did give me some cotton candy one time."
Gin giggled. "Is that so, I'm sure you'll change your mind once you find out she'd done to the Elite Seven." Chopper tilt his head in confusion. "Huh?"
Wasn't expecting that respond, so, Gin decided to give full detail to the reindeer. "Well, it's like this..." She began to explain of what happened to her and the rest of her team back in their empire days. Chopper lowered his head with his hat covering his eyes. "Anyway, let's start this fight, the faster we deal with you, the quicker we'll be able to find Akame and kill her little friends."
Pony lowered her body and sprinted towards the reindeer. "A shame such a cute creature has to die!" She jumped into the air and raised her leg while having a confident grin. "Let's you see block this!" She fell and swung her leg down right where Chopper was, then sneaky smile was shown on his face as smoke appeared around Chopper as Pony landed her attack.
"Alright!" Gin cheered just then her joy was replaced when she saw Pony acting a little strange.
"Ow...my leg, it won't move!" The Yoto-bottom wielder yelled.
Gin was completely perplexed by what her former teammate just said. "Pony, what the hell happened?!" She then saw the dust cloud vanish showing Chopper in a more muscular and tall form. "Heavy Point!"
"What! Another transformation!" Gin exclaimed in shock.
"Damn it, let me go you big beast of an oaf!" Pony cringed in pain.
"Take this!" Chopper slammed Pony hard on the ground as she coughed out salvia due to the impact.
"You'll pay for that!" Gin was pissed off and charged with her large butcher-like knife.
Chopper chuckled as he transformed again while smoke appeared around the spot he was on but Gin wasn't stopping as she swung her large knife thinking it would be enough to cut the reindeer's head off. "Got ya!" She passed through the smoke and looked at her blade and there was no blood. "Huh, what the hell, I was sure I had him."
She turned around fast and saw a large hole in the ground. "Where'd that hole come from."
Pony stood up and recovered somewhat. "What's going on...where'd that animal go?" She began to search for the creature's aura. "Damn...where is he?"
Gin was doing the same thing. "I have to admit, it's hard to find his aura, normally, I don't have trouble finding it, though, his aura was different from that Kung-Fu." She had a thought. "Is it possible that his aura changes when he transforms?"
Pony came with the same solution. "If his aura changes when he's different transformations, then whatever form he takes..."
"Will show a different aura..."
Suddenly Pony felt a faint presence coming from below, before she could react she was shoveled from the ground and sent flying into the air. "How do you like that?"
"Pony!" Gin yelled in shock.
"Coming through!" Surprisingly, Jet came dashing by Chopper.
"Jet is that you?" Chopper asked.
Instead of answering, Jet dashed so quickly at Gin which send her flying away.
Chopper was still surprised to see Jet, but, his nose caught a strange yet familiar scent. "Wait...is that..." Jet or rather Chelsea put her finger to her lips in a hush' pose.
"Time for something new," Chelsea clapped her hands and transformed into Juliet.
Pony was getting frustrated and saw the new girl. "Who is she?" She immediately shook the thought off. "Nevermind, it's obvious she's the enemy, I'll send her packing to hell!" She jumped and kicked downward landing her mark or so she thought. "What the..." She tried to pull her leg out, but it was stuck to some goo-like liquid. "What is this stuff!?" She felt a burning sensation. "Ow...this burns!"
"Despite the girl was stupid and annoying, her magic is quite effective..." Chelsea thought.
Cassandra had other thoughts as she blushed at the new girl. "So, cute, though, a pity that she's on the enemy's side...well, I would say that." She clearly could sense something off about the girl. Which Chelsea saw as she reverted to her normal form. "So, you figured me out, you were a bit smart to figure me out, even when I tried to leave what awkwardness moment I saw between Merraid and Gilberda, you were always able to sneak up behind me." She transformed again and this time took the form of Gajeel.
Despite the praise, Cassandra didn't smile as she readied her weapons but was mostly disgusted of what she was seeing. "Flattery won't get you nowhere, especially seeing you impersonate a filthy beast, though, I will praise the new female form you took, I wish I could've met her."
Chopper was dumbfounded at the girl's odd behavior. "Why do I feel like I've seen kind of expression?" He shook his head. "Anyway, Chelsea, good job, let's finish this!"
Chelsea nodded as she saw Gin coming at her. "I'll take your head off!" Chelsea quickly transformed into Gajeel, though, Gin didn't care as she continued to swing her butcher-like sword only for it to be caught by Gajeel's mouth(rather Chelsea's mouth). "What the hell?" Her confusion was soon replaced with shock as she saw Chelsea taking a piece of her blade off and began to chow on it. "How the hell is she eating my weapon!?"
"I ain't done!" She stuck her right arm out. "Iron Dragon's Spear!" Her arm transformed into an iron spear and it extended its reach to Gin piercing her left shoulder and cried out in pain as she didn't have any means to escape now.
"Iron Dragon's Roar!" Chelsea let out her breath attack and struck Gin directly. Her body was torn to shreds by the attack and an explosion occurred where she was at. What remained after was Gin's body torn to shreds and Chelsea retracted her arm and it went back to normal.
Usopp and Tsukushi continued their gunfight, Usopp was firing his Pop Greens, though he missed several times. "You say you're a sniper of the Straw Hat pirates, well, you probably need practice." Despite the mockery, Usopp just stayed calm like he did he fought against Daruma. "Is that so, then you should, I'm the real deal."
"What the hell..." Tsukushi looked in the direction where Gin, Cassandra and Pony were, though, she saw no sign of Gin. "No..."
Pony was still stuck in the sticky goo but she saw what happened to her teammate. "Gin...damn you bitch!" Suddenly loud footsteps were heard in the direction, and each of them looked in the direction.
Cassandra was the first to see what was making the loud footsteps. "Holy crap, what is that beast?"
Zoro and Najasho were in their sword duel and they heard the loud noise. "What is it now?" A small gasp was heard from Najasho, which was also unlike him.
Zoro wasn't too surprised as he smirked. "Heheheh..."
A thunderous roar was heard as Chopper was in his Monster Point form with glowing eyes.
Pony was frightened and taken aback by what she was seeing. "Huh...is that the cute little animal?!"
Cassandra was disgusted and frightened at the same time. "Such terrifying creature yet I should've expected this." She readied her weapons. "No matter, I'll crave that beast into million slices of meat!"
Pony shook off her fear and took off her boots freeing her from the sticky goo. "Cassandra, let's attack together and we'll go after Chelsea!"
Cassandra blushed at the other girl. "Taking orders from another girl is something I like despite that you and your friends were the ones that killed my group." Chelsea heard that but didn't say a word.
Chopper looked at Chelsea. "Chelsea, let me finish them off." The other assassin girl nodded her head in approval. The giant reindeer monster looked down at Cassandra and Pony. "Listen up, no matter what you think of Akame, she's still my friend, I don't care about her past, what matters to me, is who she is now.
"Is that so, then I hope you back those words up!" Pony charged with fast speed. "Thanks to my Shingu, I have increased my Lower Body strength, if I hit a vital point, I'll be able to throw him off balance and that's when Cassandra will be finish him off."
"I'll slice every piece flesh of your body and serve on a platter!" Cassandra added and readied her knives then charged towards the giant reindeer monster.
"Cloven Rose, Palm!" Chopper slammed his enlarged hand right into the two girls critically damaging them both and breaking Cassandra's weapons into pieces.
The two girls were fatally battered and broken that they were send flying away.
Chelsea looked away as she witnessed her former teammate Cassandra die before her eyes, but it couldn't be helped.
Pony was on lying down on her back. "Cough...cough..." She lift her head forward a bit. "You...your name is...Chelsea...right?"
The Gaea Foundation user glared at Pony which the other girl noticed. "I'll take that as a yes...cough...cough..." She almost on the verge of dying. "You and Akame might not know this...but, after she defected, I fled the Empire." Chelsea wasn't expecting to hear that from another former member of the Elite Seven. "I wasn't motivated to work for the Empire so I fled, when I heard that Najasho fled from battlefield against the Retributation Group."
Chelsea remembered that group's name. "I remember...that name...it's the same group Loris and Meela were working with and were suppose to be return someday...that is..." Images of Akame started to make her blood boil, though, that was put aside as she had a question of her own. "Is that so, then you fled from the Empire, then how come you died or rather, what happened before you went searching for Najasho?"
Pony's lips curled. "I was ordered by a soldier to chase after Akame, however, I was confused and conflicted to do anything, I began to question of what was going on...but..." She had a frightened expression on her face remembering a tall man approaching from behind her and sensed a feeling of dread or desire from the man to kill her. "A man questioned if I was going to do my mission...I felt the sense the man's intention to kill me, so, I lied that I would chase after her and later, I managed to flee to the west." Her eyes were beginning to grow dim.
Chelsea was surprised to hear this. "So, one of Akame's teammates flees from the Empire...due to one of the Empire's men intention to kill her." One thing that didn't add up. "If what you're saying is true, why are you fighting alongside your team before but more importantly, how did you die in the end?"
Pony coughed as blood dripped from her lips. "I managed to track down Najasho and find him a hidden rocky area in the west, I was delighted to find my friend...but." She gripped her fingers into the dirt with anger. "I learned it was a trap, that man that had the intention to kill me finally manage to catch up with me and he had about twenty soldiers with him. They shot me on the spot...once I got a good look at Najasho, I realize he was already dead, that's when the man revealed to me..."
F
"Your friend was eventually ambushed after the Retributation Group's downfall, we know of your admiration of Najasho and close you were to him, you would always ask him to know what to do next if a mission were to out of hand, not only that, we thought it over and realized that you haven't gotten over your emotional state and it led to this..." The man said with a cold tone in his voice as he put his hand up as soldiers surrounded Pony. "As if now, you'll be executed for disobeying your orders!" The shoots echoed in Pony's mind as she was shot to death and died on the spot.
F
Chelsea wasn't too surprised but still she had to admit she was impressed that Pony sensed the kill intention from the man. "So, Akame wasn't the only one that fled the Empire, only to be killed somewhere in the west, she didn't know that Akame was still alive in the end."
Pony continued to cough blood. "To think Akame was still alive after falling into the river, I figured that the soldiers managed to catch up with her, but, it seems I was wrong...I wish I would've known that."
"So, you can kill her, right?" Chelsea assumed.
Pony giggled in amusement. "Kill her...funny since you tried to do the same thing." Chopper gasped as Chelsea noticed the shocked expression on the reindeer's face. "What did she say, Chelsea?"
Chelsea put her hand out. "What I do is up to me...I admit I was shocked to hear about you and your pals including Akame are the reason that my former team is dead." She lowered her head. "Regardless, I will decide what to do."
Pony smiled sweetly. "I see...well...I suppose...it can't...be helped...I'm just...glad Akame is doing well...these days..." She laid her head sideways and died with her smile still on her face.
Tsukushi was stunned at what just happened. "Gin...Cassandra...and now Pony...those..." Usopp saw his chance. "Impact Dial!" He pressed the dial right into Tsukushi's chest sending a shockwave through her entire body and sending her flying away, right into the spot where he shot his pop greens.
Tsukushi immediately recovered and balanced her hand on the ground to break her fall and jumped back but as she did, several plant-like creatures grabbed her. "What are these things!?"
"Green Star: Human Drake!" Usopp spoke with a slight smirk.
The human Drake plants tossed the other sniper empire soldier onto a plant that was in the ground. "Green-Star Trampolia!"
"Damn, is this a game to you long-nose!" Tsukushi questioned not understanding the sniper's actions.
"Game, as a member of the Straw Hat Pirates, I don't play games, not all the time when comes to protecting my friends," Usopp said with a calm expression. "Anyway, now that you're been thrown into the air, you can't defend yourself, and your teammates are almost gone." He aimed and fired another pop green. "Secret Attack, Green Star!"
The pop green turned into a large tree that took the form of a large wolf.
Tsukushi couldn't what she was seeing. "Whoa, that's quite impressive." She smiled a bit. "It seems I misjudged your sniper skills."
As flattered as Usopp was, he knew he couldn't get distracted but he had one thing to say. "Yes, I admit, your sniper skills are unique and impressive not to mention your weapon is very cool, I bet we could have a gun duel if you were still alive." He wasn't done. "Anyway, my move shall finish you off, you see that red bulb on the nose."
Tsukushi looked closely as the large wolf-like tree neared. "The bulb has a diameter of 3 meters and it releases a stunningly powerful shockwave," Usopp explained.
The tree wolf's nose made contact with Tsukushi releasing a strong shockwave that finished her off as her eyes rolled and began to roll back. "Impact Wolf..." Usopp smirked with a cool expression.
Tsukushi fell as images of Akame flowed into her mind. "Akame...looks like you made some new interesting new friends...I wished we could've been there." She landed hard on the ground and dead though her eyes will be closed with a small smile.
Usopp lift his goggles and gazed at Tsukushi with a pitiful yet impressive look. "You were impressive, you have my respect as a sniper." He then left.
Zoro and Najasho continued to clash their blades at a fast speed. Each time their blades collided making a clanging sound.
Najasho glanced in the direction of where his teammates were. "Looks like they had fallen, pity."
Zoro noticed the distracted look on his enemy's face and glanced in the same direction. "Looks like Usopp and Chopper won their battles." He could see there was another enemy but he had to focus on his enemy. "I have a question, just who are you?"
Najasho narrowed his eyes. "I don't usually like answers questions in a battle, but, I suppose there's no reason for me to answer." He jumped away a bit and landed on the ground. "I'm Najasho, a member of the Elite Seven, as you probably guessed, I come from the same world that Akame comes from."
Zoro gasped quietly. "Hold on, does that mean you and Akame are old friends?"
"I suppose you can say that, though, I learned she betrayed the Empire and those that were left the Elite Seven," Najasho answered.
"I heard..." Zoro spoke. "Akame mentioned the Empire was corrupted, but, then again, I'm not surprised, I saw a lot of human corruption during my travels."
Najasho could tell that the swordsman was observant and probably saw the corruption that Akame saw. "Is that so, do you believe that she made the right choice?"
"Perhaps, but, she wanted to make peace a reality, even if it meant going against her old pals that blindingly follow orders," Zoro said looking serious. "As far I can tell, you and these Elite Seven guys must've been blinded badly to see the Empire's darkness."
Najasho glared at the swordsman but, he wasn't done. "More importantly, how did you die anyway?"
"It's quite a long story, but during a mission of slaying a group known as the Gravekeeprs, after they were killed, I carried my friend Pony. Later, we came to a ravine and I jumped over the other side, however, due to the long distance, I knew she and I wouldn't make it, so, I tossed her safety after I fell." Najasho explained surprising Zoro.
"So, that's how you died?" Zoro guessed.
Najasho shook his head. "I managed to survive the fall but, I bumped my head and got amnesia and became a member of the Retribution Group and pitted against my former teammates and I eventually injured Pony." Zoro was surprised to hear that.
"Then later, I got a new identity as Nahashu, I was promoted into the Ten Stars Of Tenrou after defeating one former Ten Stars, Swordsman Rangeki. Anyway, during the invasion of Soukai, I acted as one of Zuou's bodyguards. I left the Empire some time ago but..." He clenched his sword's handle. "I was found by the Empire's soldiers and they ambushed me, somewhere in the west but, at first, they asked me to return. If I did, they would look over my departure. I refused them but they didn't approve of my answer and they decided to execute me. I tried to fight them off but there was a sniper nearby and I got my leg weakening me and that's when the Empire soldiers finished me off."
Zoro couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for the former Empire soldier. "I see, how did you feel when you and your friends met Akame again?"
Najasho chuckled which was unlike him. "Honestly, the small fry has changed a lot since I and my other teammates died. It was nice to see her and to know her sister is safe." Then his neutral expression returned. "Regardless, I can't back down from this fight, I'll see it until the end."
Zoro smirked. "You got my respect as a swordsman and I think it's time we end this."
Chelsea arrived on the spot. Najasho spotted her. "It's you." Zoro turned to see the former Oarburgh Clan member. "Why are you here?"
Since this was the only chance, Najasho had something important to say. "Zoro, before we begin, I have something to say to Chelsea." Zoro had no qualms and put his sword to his side as Najasho did.
Chelsea looked confused as Najasho looked at her. "Earlier, you mentioned you were part of the Oarburgh Clan. Among the two names you mentioned, I was reminded of one of them attacking my group. She was an elderly woman wearing a bandana with an intense murderous aura."
Zoro was surprised to hear that, though, he had a pretty good guess who the enemy was talking about. "He must be talking about Chelsea's grandma Babara."
Chelsea didn't say anything but did gasp quietly as she knew who he was talking about and Najasho continued. "She proved quite challenging but when father appeared and cut her with Murasame, instead of the poison killing her, she took her own life by blowing herself up. She told us her name was Babara. A tough and terrifying opponent, but in the end she failed."
Zoro gasped quietly. "Hold on, this Babara woman blew herself off, guess she decided to die by her own hands instead of the enemy's."
Again, Chelsea said nothing, but couldn't help but chuckle inside. "Killing yourself before the enemy could, yeah, that sounds like something you'd do, Granny."
Najasho turned his attention back to Zoro. "Now, where were we, right, we'll about to finish this. First, I must say you proved to be a worthy opponent, I fought all kinds of small fries back then, but, you're clearly unlike any other opponent I fought when I was alive." He gripped his sword tightly. "I'll show you the different between a pirate and a dragon-like me."
Zoro raised an eyebrow at that statement. "Dragon?" In a second, Najasho as the ground beneath him cracked, his hair became longer, and his eyes changed to something similar to dragon's eyes. "I activated the ability of my Shingu, it grants me more strength for a brief period and that's all I need."
Zoro wasn't even phased by it, though, he was somewhat impressed. "Not bad, but, I don't intend to die here, so, bring it." He placed his hand on his sword's handle.
Najasho leaned his body forward a little and launched himself right at Zoro with blinding speed while leaving a small crater from where he stood before. As he neared Zoro, swung his sword to cut him in half. However, Zoro was able to see this move and in a flash small amount of blood splurt.
Chelsea's eyes widened as she saw the blood, however, it wasn't Zoro's.
Najasho coughed out blood as a small amount of blood dripped from his lips and a large gash was his chest which began to bleed out.
"One Sword Style: Lion Strike..." Zoro spoke quietly as he sheathed his sword.
Zoro glanced at his opponent and Najasho did the same, they continued to glance at each other for a few more minutes. "Tell me...cough...cough...what kind of friend is Akame to you?" Najasho asked as he choked lightly.
Zoro narrowed his eyes a little caught off guard by the question but he had a slight smirk. "Hmm...not to sound like my idiot captain, but, who Akame is now, is far more important than who she was in the past, I mean, we can't be wrapped in the past forever."
Najasho chuckled weakly at that reply. "Akame...I see you chose your friends carefully...they're worthy opponents...and looks like I was the small fry in the end...doesn't it..." His eyes closed as he knelt as his sword slipped out of his hands and fell to the side and his body fell forward on his stomach lying dead.
Zoro turned around fully and looked at him for a brief moment and sighed with his eyes closed. "Sorry."
Usopp and Chopper arrived. "Hey, you guys!"
"Chelsea, Zoro!"
Zoro smirked. "Looks like they won their fright."
"Well done." Chelsea and the others turned to the voice, which was Taeko. "I must say, your friends proved to be worthy opponents, not only that, you seemed to have found a hidden potential with your Imperial Arms, I never thought I'd see you fight which was unlike you."
Chelsea approached her former teammate. "I guess that's what happens when you need to adapt long after your original group got killed off."
Take had to agree with that. "True, also, I'm sure you noticed that something about your opponents." Chelsea nodded. "Yes, though, one is they had in common is that they never faced opponents with magic power. That, Zoro, Chopper, and Usopp have skills that they never seen before which gave them an advantage, though, even if they did know about their opponents, I wouldn't take them lightly if I were in their shoes."
Chopper and Usopp began to do the happy dance. "Oh, you're making us blush, don't flatter us."
"This is hardly the time to be flattered, you idiots!" Zoro barked with shark teeth.
Chelsea wasn't done yet. "The reason the enemies including you had the upper hand was that Akame was the only one fighting them."
An astute answer from Chelsea like Taeko expected and ironic that she brought up Akame. "It is surprising to know that you got on the same team as Akame."
Zoro raised an eyebrow. "Hold on, you know, Akame?"
Taeko looked at the swordsman. "Yes, I met her a while back, I even met her teammate, Cornelia, however, I end up killing her."
Usopp and Chopper twitched at that detail.
"Also, if you must know, Akame and her team are the reason that my previous team including myself are dead," Hearing that last detail shocked Zoro and Usopp.
"Is that true, Chelsea?" Usopp asked, but he got no answer.
Taeko looked at Chelsea. "Anyway, Chelsea, what do you plan to do now, do you still plan to kill Akame despite whatever the blonde girl said to you?"
Chelsea sighed as she remembered all the times she spent with Night Raid and some of the Fairy Tail wizards. "I'll admit, things are awkward between Akame and me. How can...I take the kind of news of my previous team dying at the hands of the enemy and I'm still looking for that answer, but, I do know this." She gave Take a determined look. "I did lose the Oarburgh Clan, but, in return, I joined a new group and warmed up to them eventually. After the Empire finally fell I joined Fairy Tail and had more great memories even went to another world. I met all kinds of people on the ocean and met the Straw Hat Pirates. The point is, if it wasn't for Fairy Tail, I probably wouldn't be here right now including Akame and Leone. Right now, we need to save our First Master and put an end to this war so we can go back to having peace and dealing with the usual bandits. Leone was right; compared to my little outburst, winning this war is more important. The last thing I need to take care of you is."
Usopp and Chopper cried with tears of joy.
Zoro just narrowed his eyes at Chelsea.
Taeko was rather quite impressed by Chelsea's answer. She was most certainly a different person and not like the one she knew before. "And, what form will you take now?"
"None." In a rare instance, Taeko was perplexed by Chelsea's answer. "Sure, I can take on over a dozen different forms to fight you and win, but, I want to fight you as myself because you haven't seen..." She took an up stance Taeko hadn't seen before. "What I can do."
Upon hearing that, Taeko remembered asking Chelsea if she would fight her. She gave a small smile and drew her sword which Zoro was transfixed on. "Very well then." She pointed her sword at Chelsea. "Show me what you can do, Chelsea."
Chelsea narrowed her eyes and her body began to glow. "Physical ability rise; Deus Eques! Ile Vernier, Ile Armor, and Ile Arms! Enchant!" The glow around her body shined brighter. However, there was a drawback. "I can't keep this up as long as Wendy can as myself, however, I have another trick up my sleeve just in case."
Taeko set her sword to the side. "Using magic, I thought you said you'd face me as yourself?"
"I am! It's called having insurance, besides, I've seen you fight plenty of times, but you don't know what I'm capable of now and that gives me the advantage!"
"We'll see about that!" Taeko instantly disappeared and reappeared in front of Chelsea with her sword raised. "Mountain Gale!" She swung her sword down and the force behind the attack cut through the air and landed a devastating trail of destruction through the ground. Despite the attack being powerful, something didn't feel right to Taeko. Something else she felt was three strong, sharp striking pokes along her arm she was wielding her sword and quickly fell back.
"What just happened?" Usopp asked.
Zoro then looked closely at what Taeko was looking at. "Her arms..." Taeko was thinking the same thing but then she felt something a powerful sharp poke from the right side of her back and gasped in pain.
Zoro sensed Chelsea's presence using his Observation Haki seeing that Chelsea was behind Taeko for a brief moment. Taeko quickly turned around while swinging her sword to counterattack, but, Chelsesa jumped back to avoid it. She was about to make her next attack when she felt a strong painful tingly sensation from her sword-wielding arm and suddenly found it difficult to breathe normally. She quickly figured out what happened during their brief exchange. "I see, she managed to dodge my first attack and strike my dominant arm. When I retreated, she went behind me and struck my back..." She looked at her arm which had holes the size of fingertips. "What's more, is that you using a fighting style that focuses on a person's pressure points. Knowledge of the human body was another one of your strengths, Chelsea."
Taeko was right on the mark, though, ironically, it was Akame that gave her the idea. "You think I can lethal than I am now?"
F
Chelsea and Akame were sitting at a table in the Lamia Scale guild since Akame wanted to talk to the other girl. Akame nodded to Chelsea's question. "I do, remember one of your strengths is knowledge of the human body, knowing what can leave your opponent vulnerable like you did with my sister and the other target you killed. Take vital points, for example, hitting that kind of part throws your opponent off balance."
Chelsea knew Akame had a strong point. "I know, but, can that make me more lethal than you?"
Akame smiled at her. "As you know, I'm not fully dependent on Murasame, its ability to poison and kill my opponent is useful, but that's on itself. You, however, don't need such a thing. Your own hands would be enough considering you used them for a lethal strike and perhaps you can add something extra to it."
Chelsea looked down to observe her hands. "You think so, huh?" Fighting up close and personal wasn't her strong suit, Her Imperial Arms magic suited her well and Needle magic was for long-range attacks, but, she wasn't against having more versatility. One thing she was taught was that there was always something useful in any situation. She made up her mind. "Sure, I'll give it a go, but, I'm not as good of a fighter as myself."
"I'll help with you that."
F
Thinking back now, it was irony piled upon irony. It was thanks to Akame that Chelsea was able to figure out the ins and outs of the fighting style she was using, plus adding some additions of her own. Strengthening the latter of her fingers was one of them so her hits would be a little stronger was one of them. It was thanks to Akame, she was able to improve her fighting style and had a few tricks. Not only that, she was able to find something else during her time with Lamia Scale. She looked at her hand and clenched her hand in a fist. "It's probably time...I think it's one that Taeko will not see coming."
Taeko moved her arm and found it a little difficult to do so and quickly found out something was wrong with her breathing. "I can't move my arm much and breathing has become painful for me to do. As expected of Chelsea to weaken to gain the advantage. However..." She closed her eyes. "Chelsea...you have indeed grown stronger in a way I didn't expect. If that's the case then..." She opened her eyes to reveal the determination within them. "I will come at you with everything I have."
Chelsea felt a chill going down her spine as she knew what Taeko was talking about. "Oh, crap."
Usopp didn't like the sound of Taeko's voice. "She must be getting serious."
"Oreburgh Technique: Limit Removal," Taeko yelled as her eyes enlarged and her pupils became invisible.
The ground underneath Taeko cracked and Chelsea took a step back. She knew Taeko was serious now. She was surprised to see her former ally raising her sword. "She's forcing her arm to move?!"
"Summit Gust!" Taeko swung her sword down and Chelsea gasped as a powerful slash of wind came at Chelsea quickly. The attack cut through the ground and when it reached Chelsea, a large dust cloud appeared. Thankfully, she was to dodge it thanks to Wendy's enchantment spells, though, she had to move out of the dust cloud as Taeko would use it to her advantage. Then again, she would have to expect that so as soon as she ran out of the dust cloud and found Taek right in front of her she dashed to her side and punched her in the side of her face throwing her off balance.
Taeko was affected by the vital point hit, however, she quickly recovered and kicked her former teammate the in the side away from her. Despite the Ile Armor enchantment placed on her, she still was able to feel the force of Taeko's powerful and it could've shattered her ribs on that side. "Scattering Lotus!" Taeko disappeared and Chelsea felt multiple slashes all over her body but the damage was halved due to Wendy's Ile Armor enchantment and she also knew that Taeko's sword was poisoned. The only difference is that Taeko's poison wasn't as quick as Murasame's and isn't as powerful but still deadly. Taeko appeared in front of Chelsesa crouched with her sword inside its sheath and her hand on the handle. She raised her head and looked at Chelsea. "Zypher." She unsheathed her sword and a white light flashed before Chelsea's eyes before the slash deeply cut the ground behind her. The light faded and Taeko saw Chelsea wasn't in front of her anymore. Chelsea was behind her again and was about to attack Taeko again. "Twister." Taeko vanished in front of Chelsea before her former teammate could attack.
"I think Taeko is onto Chelsea's strategy!" Usopp yelled.
Zoro had other thoughts. "That girl is quite observant to figure out strategies, however, those holes in her arm...I wonder if there was more to Chelsea's attack."
Chelsea panicked a little before trying to calm down. She steadied her breathing and closed her eyes. "Calm down, sense where Taeko's attack comes from, and sense the magic power that's coming from her." The silence was deafening throughout the battlefield and lasted for several seconds. She felt a slight breeze blow through her and she opened her eyes. "There!" She quickly turned in the direction where she sensed Taeko's magic and quickly moved her arm to block the other girl's by slamming her hand against Taeko's sword hand. Neither girl let up pressing their arms against each other until Taeko jumped back and attacked again with blinding speed. Chelsea made sure to block Taeko's wrist which was holding her sword.
Even with Wendy's enchantments, she was surprised that she was keeping up with Taeko.
Taeko kept pressing on with her attacks when suddenly she felt her body tense and couldn't move. "My body...how?" Her body being paralyzed could mean one thing to her; she must've been poisoned at some point during the fight, but how can she get affected by poison "Wait...my...arm..."
With Taeko momentarily paralyzed, Chelsea saw this was her chance and she was going to finish off Taeko with a move she thought she'd ever use. "Magical Drain! Requip: Clear Heart Clothing!"
Chelsea's clothes began to glow and then she was wearing the same clothing as Erza's Clear Heart Clothing and wearing no footwear. She also had a white Igarashi around her upper chest.
In her hands were two double-edged, golden-hilted katanas.
Zoro was amazed. "Holy crap, she's using one of Erza's armor!"
"That is so cool!" Usopp and Chopper yelled in amazement.
Taeko was even more impressed than ever, never in a million years, she saw her former teammate wield katana let alone two, despite she was once playing around with a stick.
Chelsea looked at her armor. "Velveno, Erza, I owe you two a lot."
F
Back a while ago
Chelsea was coming back from a mission when she bumped into Velveno and Aceto.
Velveno was a former convict that attempted to crash his girlfriend's ball but only because he decided to propose to the girl he loved, though, he had to use his magic power to copy some of Fairy Tail's magic to protect himself and eventually confessed his crimes and his reasons of breaking out of prison.
Only this time, he was finally free and was going to marry Aceto. He and his fiance met Chelsea after she was done with her mission.
"So, you're a new member of Lamia Scale." Velveno chuckled with a cigar in his mouth. "Nice to meet you, though, it's a shame that Fairy Tail is disbanded, I hope they return."
Chelsea smiled. "I'm sure they'll be back someday, after all." She sensed some strong magic power from him. "I take it that you're a wizard yourself."
"That's right, I use transformation magic and Magical Drain," Velveno replied.
Chelsea was a little confused at the second magic power that the afro man said. "Magical Drain, what is that?"
Velveno smirked. "It's kind of a magic that can copy any magic power, back then, I used this to copy Fairy Tail's magic, at least a few of them."
Chelsea was intrigued by this. "I see, perhaps, you can show me, I'm always looking for different situations for my fighting style, so, can show me your Magical Drain, that is, if it's okay with Aceto?"
The rich girl saw no problem and smiled in approval. "Of course, Velveno, you have my permission to help this girl."
The afro man returned his future wife's smile. "Very well, Chelsea, shall we start?"
Linebreak
"After a few months of training with Velveno, I mastered Magical Drain. Then, I had to figure what magic powers could also help." Chelsea thought. "I came with the idea to use Erza's armor, though, I would need the kind that can help me move around easily, so, after the incident with Avatar, I met her when everyone was rebuilding the guild."
F
Chelsea never thought she would stumble upon such magic power and she also shared her newly required magic power with Erza, who gave her some advice on what Requip magic might suit her best. "So, you learned Magical Drain, that's quite impressive."
"Yes, do you know any armor that could suit me?" Chelsea asked.
"Perhaps, one or two of my armor magic should help you, as you know people that small armor narrow areas and that it can be hard to move around if the person is wearing too much armor. In your case, you probably need armor that isn't too heavy for you, perhaps light armor and I think I have the kind that might be suitable for you."
Chelsea smiled. "Let's start then."
F
Chelsea dashed toward Taeko and slashed her as she passed her leaving a X-like gash on her former teammate's torso. Taeko coughed out blood and dropped her sword.
"Yay!" Usopp cheered.
"Chelsea, you did it!" Chopper laughed with joy.
Zoro smirked. "Not bad."
Taeko could only star at Chelsea wide-eyed as she had managed to beat her and use a sword technique to finish her. "Sorry, Taeko but this is checkmate." She reverted her magic into her regular clothes.
Taeko let out a few pained breaths. "H-how...how did you...?"
"I believe you're familiar with the saying "She who lands the first strike has the advantage.'" Upon hearing that, Taeko remembered the first time Chelsea struck her arm with her pressure point attacks. "On top of using a fighting style focusing on pressure points, I thought I could add something extra and that was painting my nails with a paralyzing poison. Once I struck you and my nails pierced through your skin, it was only a matter of time. Still, even with how potent the poison is, it took a while for it to take effect but I knew you wouldn't resist it since it's a poison from this world, and as we all know there are different kinds of poison. I also got this newly required magic power known as Magical Drain, which enables me to use any kind of magic power, and the outfit you saw used by one of Fairy Tail's strongest wizards, Erza Scarlet."
Taeko closed her eyes as she lowered her head and chuckled. "I should've known better than to underestimate you, you were always cunning and you took me by surprise using katana swords. I admit I have never been as impressed by your skills as I am today." Chelsea looked at Taeko with sorrowful eyes. Though this was a victory, this is twice knowing Taeko would be gone again and it was by her hands this time.
"Zoro, Usopp, Chopper, I need to do something quick...so, you three go on, I'll catch up with you and the others later."
Usopp was confused. "Chelsea, what do you mean?"
Chopper realized what she going to do. "Are you going after Akame?" The pirate sniper gasped quietly. "C'mon, Akame didn't mean to kill your old friends, I'm sure she's-"
Zoro put their arms out in front of his two crewmates. "That's enough...let's do what she says." Chopper and Usopp left without any argument. Zoro turned around to catch up with his friends but stopped. "Chelsea, I might not understand your pain, but, it's better than you move forward, we can't live in the past forever and it's not healthy to hold grudges, that kind of thing will drive you insane and you can end up doing something you'll eventually regret."
With that mere advice, Zoro left to join with his two crewmates.
Chelsea did take Zoro's advice to heart but she still felt her blood boil. She then began to walk ahead and past her old friend. "Chelsea..." Chelsea stopped when Taeko called out her name. "You made new interesting friends, I can tell they care about you. Honestly, I did consider Akame a friend, too bad she was on the enemy's side and I even said this to her before I died...I said-" A breeze of wind blew as Taeko spoke her words and Chelsea twitched slightly.
"Anyway, as long as you remain alive, the Oreburgh Clan will never die, it's up to you to decide what you want to do with it." Taeko smiled peacefully. "Grandmother would be proud of how far you've come, not to mention how strong you've become too."
Chelsea let out a small, quiet gasp before lowering her head and her bangs covered her eyes. "Hey, Taeko, do me a favor please...when you see Granny again, can you tell her I miss her?" Her voice quivered with a hint of sadness.
Taeko chuckled sweetly for the last time. "I will, goodbye...Chelsea."
Tears ran down Chelsea's cheek and her teardrops hit the ground, never in her life thought she would be crying like this as she remembered the last part of her memory when Taeko questioned her if she wanted to fight. "Well, what do you say, shall we fight?"
F
Chelsea was caught off guard by Taeko's question but laughed it off. "I never took you for telling jokes, Taeko. But, we both know that you're strong and that no matter how hard I try..."
F
Chelsea continued to cry as Taeko was no longer with her once more. "I could never beat you."
Usopp, Chopper, and Zoro were further away, but, they could hear the faint crying from Chelsea.
"Do you think she'll be okay?" Usopp asked worriedly.
"Only time will tell," Zoro answered.
"Chelsea...I hope you don't do anything that you'll regret," Chopper thought looking like he was going to cry next.
There you have it, I gave Chelsea the ability to use Magical Drain and decided one of Erza's armor that could be suited for her to use due to her height. I hope you like how Zoro, Chopper, and Usopp took down, Najasho, Cassandra, Gin, and Pony. Don't put any bad reviews, that won't be tolerated.
End of chapter.
