"Oi, Levy…" Jet called out to the Script mage who was staring out into space. "Something the matter? You've been looking out in the same direction for a while now.
"Huh?" Levy blinked once she heard her name, turning to Jet and Droy. "Oh, I'm fine…"
"She's probably worried about Gajeel," Droy replied. "You know they'll be fine, right?"
"Of course I know that!" Levy replied, cheeks puffing out in slight annoyance. "Just continue to enjoy yourselves! This is still the festival, after all!" Levy nodded after her comment, shooing her two partners away so she could worry in peace, even though they were telling her not to worry.
"It's like normal doesn't exist in this country…" Rylo sighed while removing his top hat from his head.
"It would be nice to have a least a few weeks without something bad happening, yeah?" Sting replied to the cliché mage with a shrug. "Though it's nice to be kept on our toes, this is getting to be a little much. But, I'm sure Natsu-san and the others will take care of this problem."
"Men!" Ichiya suddenly exclaimed, sparkling with the Trimens. "My honey will no doubt reign triumphant over any ugly face of evil that dares place itself in her excellence!"
"Laying it on a little thick there, old man…" Raven said while rubbing the back of his head.
"Are all men as….." Marlene paused for a moment, unable to find the correct word to describe Ichiya. "Interesting, as he is…?"
"Who knows?" Draco replied while giving a shrug. "All I know is that I ain't gonna take any of his attitude." And after the dark skinned male said that, he began to walk off with his hands behind his head.
"Huh?" Marlene blinked, walking beside Draco now. "Draco, where are you going?"
"Ah, don't mind me," The mage said while waving a dismissive hand. "I'll just be out for a walk, don't worry about it."
"Hmm…" Chelia was anxious, pacing back and forth while looking in the direction the group left in. Needless to say, she was concerned.
"Something bothering you?" Lyon asked upon noticing the pinkette's pacing.
"Oh, Lyon…" Chelia gave a slight smile to the ice make wizard.
"Shouldn't you be spending time with Raven?" Lyon teased, a slight smirk curling.
"N-Nani!?" Chelia flailed her arms in a comical manner at the tease, cheeks turning a light shade of pink. "N-No! That's not it! I mean…!"
"I'm just joking," Lyon chuckled at Chelia's reaction, hoping to have lightened her mood a bit before asking the serious question. "But, something does seem to be bothering you. What is it?"
"Well…" Chelia's cheeks cooled down and she answered Lyon. "I'm worried about Wendy and Cynthia, and all of them. We helped them out last time and now that they aren't with us…"
"I think you're worrying far too much," Lyon said with a reassuring smile. "They'll manage."
"Mhm…" Chelia nodded, her gaze shifting over in the direction. "But still…I can't help but feel like…"
For some reason, Levy felt her spirits lift up for a minute. She could feel that Gajeel made it through whatever trouble he was having. She let out a relieved sigh, now turning to face her guild members. "Okay, sorry about that…!" She said while skipping over to her guild mates. "I was just…" Only seconds later is when she'd stop, her heart sinking to the bottom of her stomach. She had a bad feeling about Gajeel's wellbeing now…
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"Get outta the way!" Natsu shouted while igniting his fist in flames. "Otherwise I'll burn you to ash!"
"Bring it on! I'll suffocate you with my snow!" Yeti Blizzard exclaimed while beating his chest. "Both of you bring it!"
"Fine!" Shadowlore exclaimed while charging forward on all fours, letting out a wolf's howl. "Headbutt!"
Natsu darted forward with the fire around his fist blazing hotly. He ran forward just as Shadowlore did. "Fire Dragon's Iron…!" he started, but just before he or Shadowlore actually reached Yeti Blizzard, they crashed into each other. "GWAH!?"
"GUH!" Shadowlore grunted before standing up, now butting heads with Natsu. "Hey, watch where you're going!"
"ME!?" Natsu shouted while shoving his forehead against Shadowlore's. "YOU GOT IN MY WAY!"
"NO! YOU GOT IN MY WAY!" Shadowlore barked back. Suddenly, once again, the two began to fight each other within a comical smoke cloud.
"…" Yeti Blizzard raised his finger to say something to the two mages, but instead he got another idea. He pointed his hand forward, a large blue magic seal appearing on his palm. "Yukidama Cannon!" From the magic seal, a giant snowball launched towards the two mages.
"Huh?" Natsu turned at Yeti's voice, eyes widening for a brief second as the snowball made way. Without a second thought, he jumped back and away from Shadowlore, but that proved useless as the snowball exploded between the two, causing both mages to fly off to the side. Natsu rolled before placing his hands on the ground, sliding to a stop. "Gah!? What the hell?! That snow hurt!"
"I thought snowballs were just supposed to leave a chilling sensation in your pants NOT BLOW UP IN YOUR FACE." Shadowlore gave Yeti the "really?" look before shaking the snow off his fur.
"Here, let me give you another!" Yeti Blizzard raised his hand, now just creating a multitude of snowballs above his head. "Yukidama Rush!" Hand extended forward, the snowballs manifested seconds before launched towards the duo, dense enough to create craters within the hard steel floor.
"You won't get me again!" Natsu exclaimed with confidence as he lit his fist in flames once again, his body moving in a zig zag motion, evading the snowballs coming his way. Beside him was Shadowlore, who he took a quick glance to and exchanged a silent nod.
"Check this out!" Shadowlore exclaimed while leaping forward, wolf claws extended. He aimed a cross slash right towards Yeti Blizzard's midsection, landing a direct hit that caused the large snowman to stumble back.
"Now it's my turn!" Natsu roared while lunging forward with his flame lit arm pulled back. "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" He exclaimed, throwing his fist right towards Yeti's face. A direct hit, but Natsu was far from down yet. His foot suddenly lit ablaze, and with a battle cry he slammed the heel of his blazing limb towards Yeti's face for a follow up attack. "Talons!" The force of the two hit combo was strong enough to send Yeti Blizzard flying off to the side, but Natsu still wasn't done. He flipped, landing upside down on his hands with his cheeks inflated. "Fire Dragon's Roar!" Natsu shouted while opening his mouth, unleashing a funnel of orange flames in Yeti's direction.
"Gah!" Blizzard grunted from the two hit combo, flying off to the side due to Natsu's surprising strength. After regaining his senses and covering, he noticed the incoming roar. "Impressive combo, I'll give you that much, but Yeti Blizzard 2.0 is not to be outdone so easily!" Yeti extended his hand out, "catching" the roar within his palm. He then closed his palm and caused the roar to just disperse, causing Natsu's eyes to widen.
"Grrr…" The dragon slayer growled lowly at his ineffective roar. "Guess I'll just have to hit you even harder, then!"
"Don't forget about me!" Shadowlore exclaimed, hopping next to Natsu while emitting his own growl. "The mighty Shadowlore can take this beast all on his own! But I'll allow you to help me this time."
"Shut up and let's just kick his ass already." Natsu replied with a comically stale expression at Shadowlore before getting serious, staring down Yeti Blizzard with a heated glare.
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"Dammit…" Luke panted heavily along with Selene, Aira, and Lucy. After everything they threw at Hollow, there was nothing that would keep him down for good. "How do we fight this guy…!?"
"There is no fighting…" Hollow replied. "You cannot defeat something that is empty. I have no weakness…I am nothingness. You cannot defeat me."
"This is the seventh time you've said that and I'm starting to get really sick of it…" Selene said with a groan as she brought herself up to her feet.
"No matter how many times I say it, it seems to go through one ear and out the other for you meatbags…" Hollow shrugged. "So, I intend to pound this reality into you; the power of your nakama and friendship is useless here."
"Meatbags? Well that's not very nice…" Aira commented with a frown.
"You don't seem to understand…!" Lucy said while bringing herself up to her feet, pointing towards Hollow while gesturing towards Luke, Aira, and Selene. "You'll never be able to crush the power of our nakama! We may not be from the same guild, but we're partners! We're nakama right now!"
"Ugh…" Hollow shook his head, lowering it in a manner that showed her was highly disappointed. "You manage to stick onto those foolish beliefs no matter how bleak the situation…very well, allow me to show you just how useless your beliefs are!" With that exclamation, Hollow placed his palms in front of him, generating a pitch black sphere. Without warning, the sphere suddenly expanded, consuming all five of them within darkness.
"Nani!?" Luke looked around. Everything was literally pitch black, he couldn't see a thing for the life of him. "Yo!? You guys around!?"
"I can't see…!" Selene shouted. "I can't even smell him…!"
"This isn't good…" Aira commented with caution in her voice.
"Don't worry guys, I can fix this!" Lucy shouted. "Gate of the Lion, I open thee! Loke!" A golden shine illuminated the darkness. Seconds later, Loke appeared, using his Regulas to light up the darkness well enough for everyone to see, but even his light was only able to dim the area somewhat. "That's not much better, but at least we can see now…"
"Welcome to my domain…" Hollow said, his voice echoing throughout the endless abyss.
"How do we get out?" Luke inquired while the hairs on the back of his neck raised; he could feel Hollow's presence nearby.
"You have to defeat me…but here, that will be impossible…" Hollow replied.
"If you stopped hiding…!" Luke snapped. And the immediate second after he said that, he felt a powerful palm slam into his chest, causing a grunt of pain to escape his lips as he tumbled across the darkness. "Gah!"
"Luke!" Aira used her ears to listen out for Hollow. When she was certain she pinpointed his location, she swiped her arms forward, unleashing multiple blades of wind in that direction. "Wind Blades!" She expected some form of contact, but none of the blades struck true. Her eyes widened as she turned to Loke and Lucy. "Where'd he go…"
"Behind you!" Loke shouted, immediately moving forward while drawing his fist back. "Regulas Impact!" He exclaimed while throwing his lighted fist towards Hollow who was behind Aira, but at the last second, Hollow faded into the darkness, causing Loke to miss. "Tch!" He then turned to Aira, giving her his usual coy grin. "Don't worry, Aira-chan, I'll be sure to protect you."
"Now isn't the time to be picking up chicks!" Lucy shouted in a comical manner.
"Thunder Burst." Hollow's voice echoed throughout the room, though it was closer to Aira and Loke. Before the blonde and the spirit could respond, a powerful burst of thunder swept them off their feet and into the darkness. Loke's light temporarily shut off, so everyone went blind once again.
"Loke! Aira!" Lucy called out to the two, only to feel a familiar sensation before her. Hollow's eyes lit up the area just in front of her, and right in front of Lucy was the Thunder Bazooka, already fully charged. Her eyes widened and her body froze. The only thing she could do was let out a pained yelp as the Thunder Bazooka landed true, blowing her farther into the darkness.
"Lucy…!" Selene shouted. She felt as though she was currently the only one standing at the moment. "This isn't good…We need to think of something quickly before…" She got cut off. Hollow's palm slammed into her diamond covered face, and while the diamonds added immense defense she still felt it and tumbled across the darkness just from the sheer force of it. Her diamonds were unscathed, but Hollow's force was just that strong. "Ugh…" Selene groaned, but suddenly stopped as Hollow gripped her shirt, pulling her up. "H-Hey! Lemme go!" Selene puffed her cheeks out, but Hollow used his free hand to clamp her mouth shut, causing the incoming roar to explode in her mouth, causing her to throw her head back in pain.
"A dragon slaying lacrima. It's not often Aiden gets to experiment with these…" Hollow drew his hand back and it phased through Selene's chest, now gripping onto her lacrima. Sparks began to fly as Selene's body attempted to resist the removal of her lacrima in Hollow's special way.
"A-AHH!" Selene screamed out, unable to kick her body free or do anything else.
"Selene…!" Luke, Lucy, and Aira shouted in unison.
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"It feels like we've been walking for hours…" Daryan complained as he and Cana continued up the flight of stairs.
"Oh…stop whining…" Cana said with a slight groan. Her legs were staring to get tired from all the climbing. "It's not very S class of you…"
"We've literally climbed 30 flights of stairs…!" Daryan replied. "Is it ever going to end?!" And while he was complaining he happened to slam right into a door. He pulled back and shook his head. "Ah-ha! I knew we would fine something soon! And just when you started to complain too!"
Any hints of Cana's previous expression were replaced by a deadpan scowl. She shook her head and knocked on the door a few times. "It's shut tight…"
"Hm…" Daryan extended his hand, creating a several foot long bone, and in the next motion he swung it towards the door, breaking it down with ease. "How's that for S class?" He asked Cana with a smirk.
"Mhm…" Cana rolled her eyes and stepped inside, eyes widening at what she saw. "No way…!"
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"This guy is still standing!?" Shadowlore groaned while panting heavily. He, Natsu, and Yeti Blizzard were all riddled with bruise marks, yet Lore and Natsu were the only two panting excessively.
"There's only one thing to do in this case…" Natsu said while pounding his fist together, charging immediately after. "Hit him harder!"
"Run away!" Shadowlore shouted out at the same time Natsu did, running in the opposite direction.
"Wha!?" Natsu turned his head slightly, gawking at Shadowlore fleeing in the other direction. "Hey, I thought you were the almighty Shadowlore!?"
"I learned that when you're fighting something and it doesn't stay down the wise option is to run away!" Shadowlore replied.
"Tch!" Natsu grunted before looking back to Yeti Blizzard. His eyes widen at the large hand coming to grab him, so he quickly placed both hands out, stopping Yeti's attempted grab, but he was struggling to hold his ground. "Kuso…"
"What's the matter?! Starting to get tired? That's a shame…" Yeti Blizzard said as a sadistic grin curled onto his lips, bringing his free hand up. "Because I was just starting to have fun!" Yeti began to being his free hand down to crush Natsu, but Shadowlore ran back in with amazing speed and slashed his claws on Yeti's leg, causing him to miss Natsu. "Gah!?"
"And once you figure out how to beat the thing you ran away from you strike!" Shadowlore exclaimed with vigor.
"Heh!" Natsu grinned, taking advantage of Yeti's compromising situation by puffing his cheeks out. "Fire Dragon's Roar!" Natsu opened his mouth, unleashing a funnel of flames right into Yeti's chest, the impact causing the large snowman to stagger backwards. "Not done yet!" Natsu bellowed, flames now covering his entire body. He lunged forward headfirst, slamming his head into Yeti's chest. "Fire Dragon's Sword Horn!" The impact was so powerful that Natsu forced Yeti Blizzard into a wall that collapsed on him shortly after. Yeti Blizzard was KO'ed. "Take that!" Natsu said while raising a fist into the air.
"You wouldn't have won without my strategy." Shadowlore said with a smirk.
"Whatever…" Natsu said with a deadpanned expression.
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"We have to help her…!" Aira cried out while slowly bringing herself to her feet. She had the magic to fight but her body was exhausted. She had one spell that could reverse the damage done, but it would take too much time considering the situation.
"I can do this…" Luke mumbled to himself while standing up. He took a chance and leapt forward with his foot extended, flames igniting to light up the area as much as he could to ensure a hit. "Talons!" And with a battle cry, Luke slammed his flaming foot right into Hollow's face, causing the being to release Selene and stagger back. "Eyah!"
"Uh…" Selene fell to her hands and knees, panting heavily. She looked up to Luke and gave a smile. "Thanks…"
"Hmph…" Hollow replied to the situation with indifference. "I suppose I could just pull the source of all your magics from your empty corpses…" Hollow then raised his hands, generating an immensely large sphere of electricity so bright it lit up the area. "I will finish you all here."
"That's a big sphere…" Lucy said while shielding her eyes from the blinding light.
"I can't move…" Aira said through grit teeth.
"This isn't good…" Selene groaned.
"Prepare to meet your…" Hollow began, but sparks began to appear on his body due to a brief malfunction. The darkness around the area faded and the room returned to normal. "W-W-What's happening…!?" Hollow stuttered, his arms lowering and the electric sphere disappearing.
Just then, a lacrima screen appeared in-between Hollow and the group of mages, showing Cana and Daryan. "Whoa, you guys look like you've seen better days…" Cana said while glancing at Lucy, Luke, Loke, Aira, and Selene.
"Cana!?" Lucy's eyes widened, and she couldn't help but grin. "What are you doing with Daryan!?"
"Well aren't you a sight for sore eyes…!" Loke said with a wide grin himself.
"We found something that we thought would help improve your day!" Daryan exclaimed while shifting the screen behind them. What would improve their day? Hollow's broken core floating in the middle of the room.
"That's…!" Lucy started.
"M-My core…!? H-How did you find it?!" Hollow asked.
"We just kinda ran into it!" Daryan replied with a grin before pressing some random button, causing a pipe to shoot out from the wall and release a high powered stream of water that struck Hollow, rendering his electrical powers useless. "Oops?"
"Now all that's left is for you to destroy the body! You guys can do it!" Cana exclaimed before the lacrima screen suddenly cut off.
"Okay!" Lucy nodded, pulling out yet another golden key. "Please don't be mad at me for this…" She pleaded before sticking the key into the high powered stream of water still shooting at Hollow. "Gate of the Water Bearer, I open thee! Aquarius!" A golden shine illuminated from the key before releasing the ever so moody Aquarius, who glared at Lucy.
"What did I tell you about summoning me…?" The spirit asked with her gold glare, intimidating the daylights out of Lucy.
"S-Sorry! I just…" Lucy started, but Aquarius turned around for herself, a brow raising.
"So…..this is the one that almost killed you that one time, huh…?" Aquarius asked. Lucy gave a silent nod in response. "Thought I don't particularly care much for you at all, I know Layla wouldn't be very happy with me if I let her daughter die…" She said to herself before grabbing onto her jar. "So you get a pass this time, blonde."
"A spirit that doesn't like its owner…the first time I've seen that…" Aira commented to herself.
"Don't drown me this time…" Luke pleaded silently.
"Guys!" Selene snapped, trying to get everyone's attention.
"Oh yes, we have a battle to finish!" Loke exclaimed.
"Let's finish it…!" Luke said while bringing his hands back, only to bring them forward quickly. A dense black sphere appeared around Hollow, keeping the magical being in place. "Black God's Bubble!" Luke then turned his head to Loke and the three females. "I'll hold this asshole down! You guys hurry up and finish it! I can't hold him for long!"
"Right!" Aira nodded swiping her arms quickly across her chest, creating a yellow magic seal before her. "High level wind magic: Tempest!" From the magic seal, a powerful tornado wrapped in thunder magic shot out, soaring towards Hollow.
"Diamond Dragon's…" Selene began as she puffed her cheeks out. "ROAR!" The diamond slayer lurched her head forward, unleashing a funnel of sharp diamonds that merged with Aira's tempest.
"Regulas…" Loke started while pounding the rings together, creating a large sphere of light. "Light Beam!" He then threw his arms forward, unleashing a powerful beam of light.
"And here's the finisher!" Aqaurius shouted while taking in all the water from the pipe into her jar, throwing it all forward. Each and every attack merged together for a powerful unison raid that raced towards the defenseless Hollow, who could do nothing but scream as it all struck, resulting in a large explosion. When the exploded faded, Hollow ceased to exist anymore.
"We did it…!" Luke grinned, falling to his hands and knees after, coughing violently after. "Ugh…that was rough…"
"Loke…Aquarius, thank you…" Lucy said with a warm smile as she fell to her knees, panting heavily, from all the magic she used up.
"Any time, Lucy…" Loke said with a two finger salute and a wink. "Is that enough to warrant that date from you?"
"You can go now!" Lucy replied while sending Loke and Aquarius back to the Spirit World.
"Can we rest now?" Aira asked while taking the time to catch her breath. "I have enough magic to patch up everyone's wounds, if you'd like."
"I'd appreciate that…" Selene responded to Aira with a nod.
"Hello?" Warren asked via communication.
"Oi, Warren!" Natsu exclaimed. "Where are you!?"
"With me," Magnus replied with the same telepathic wavelength.
"Never mind that! I lost Gajeel and Juvia! I can't connect with them!" Warren said in a panic. "Same with Cana and Daryan!"
"What?!" Lucy's eyes widened. "But they were just talking with us a second ago..!"
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"They're probably just out of range or something…!" Natsu replied. "Gajeel's just too stubborn to die!"
"Perhaps…but then again…" Magnus began.
"Don't listen to Magnus," Shadowlore cut off his own guildmate while scowling. "He's usually wrong about a lot of things now. COUGH GMG COUGH" And as they were all conversing, Yeti Blizzard was slowly getting up.
"Hard feelings aside…" Magnus said with an awkward cough. "This is serious!"
"Right! We have to find them…" Natsu nodded. "Gajeel may be a hard headed idiot but we can still bail him out, I guess."
"Too bad…you won't get the chance…" Yeti Blizzard gasped violently as he spoke, causing Natsu and Lore to turn instantly.
"Oh…he's still standing…!" Lore said with obvious surprise.
"I'll just knock him down again!" Natsu shouted while rushing towards Yeti Blizzard once again.
"Not this time…If I go down, I'm taking you with me!" Yeti said as he stomped on the ground, creating a large blue magic seal at the ceiling of the room. "Yukidama FALL!" From the magic seal, a large avalanche just fell down towards the three.
"WAH!?" Natsu stopped, gawking at the incoming avalanche. His flames immediately covered his body, but they were doused just as quickly by the rapidly falling slow. "Gwah…!"
"WAAH!" Lore cried out as all three of them were buried in the snow.
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"Hey, what's that noise!?" Aira asked.
"Natsu! Natsu! Shadowlore!?" Warren called out a few times, but to no avail. "I…I just lost Natsu and Shadowlore."
Lucy's eyes widened immensely at the news before shaking her head in denial. "No, that can't be right!"
"I'm sure they just got interrupted…" Aira said with optimism, but was cut off as a dark hole suddenly appeared underneath her, swallowing her whole. She could only let out a yelp before being dragged into darkness.
"Aira!" Selene and Luke both cried out at the same time, attempting to lunge and grab the wind mage, but both missed and hit the floor just as Aira sank under. But, their failed attempted wouldn't last long, as the exact same thing happened to them.
"Luke! Aira! Selene!" Lucy shouted, but she stopped. Her heart sank as she felt alone now, but she also had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach; she'd seen that type of black hole before. "Warren…" She started, but before she could, something struck the back of her and knocked her out cold.
"Now part of the stage has been set…" Hyde said as he tipped his top hat up slightly, a wide grin on his face. Though, most of his body was covered by the shadows of the room, there was clearly something different about his appearance, as only part of his face was shown under his hat. "The ultimate show will soon be beginning…"
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Apollo Flame: "I will wipe your existence of the face of Earthland!"
Jaxon: "You know, it'd be a shame if someone were to rain on your parade, Mr. Sun…"
Cygnus: "I really hate guys who talk longer than me…let's finish this up quickly, eh, Jaxon?"
Yakuza: "Hey, what am I, chopped liver?!"
Next time: Gods and Men