A/N: Hello, readers! Another chapter is here!
Enjoy!
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE: RESCUE TEAM VS THE EXECUTIONERS
Inside the plant, Dusk opened his eyes. "Huh? What's happening to me?" He asked himself as a slime-like substance was on him. "What is this? I can't move!"
"Beautiful dancing doll, it's a skeletal flower that blooms in blood." Cosmos explained.
"Hold on, Dusk! I'll get you outta there right away!" Akame said before he tripped over a plant and fell.
Cosmos laughed. "What a klutz!" She insulted. "It's too late. The boy will be digested and the execution will be complete."
"Not as long as we're around!" Bruno shouted.
"Don't go over there. It's too dangerous!" Happy warned.
"But be at ease. After he's digested, he'll be reborn as a beautiful flower." Cosmos narrowed her eyes.
"What?!" Happy questioned as he imagined Dusk as a flower.
"Stop it!" Bruno exclaimed.
"What's wrong? It seems your partner is in a pinch." Knepper taunted.
"Lily, Jim, I'll go. You two take care of this guy." Zack informed.
"Yes. Count on it." Lily said.
"If we team up, it'll be a lot easier." Jim added, making Lily nod in agreement.
"Don't count your chickens!" Knepper taunted.
"Come and get us with your flying colors!" Lily said.
Knepper's fist got covered in purple acid. Both Lily and Jim dodged his attack before the two large Exceeds sent him back.
"I'm on my way, Dusk!" Zack shouted.
Zack blasted blue light, causing some explosions before charging forward. "Huh. Not bad." Kamika claimed.
"Quite beautiful." Cosmos commented.
"Dusk!" Zack exclaimed, breaking the plant and releasing Dusk.
"Zack!" Dusk said in relief.
"Wow..." Yukino muttered.
"Are you all right? Can you stand?" Zack asked his guildmate, helping him stand up.
"I'm fine." Dusk replied.
"All right!" Akame exclaimed.
Zack smirked. "Certainly, that boy is..." Arcadios trailed off.
"Zack Orion, one of our S-Class wizards. A pain in the ass, really." Akame insulted, causing Zack to look at him with an irked expression.
"Hey! I just saved your boyfriend, you ungrateful blood sucker!" He scolded, making Akame look away while huffing in irritation.
Dusk sighed before saying, "As long as we got this guy, we have nothing to fear."
"Aside from Mira, he's the scariest person here." Bruno claimed.
"Freeze all of them!" Kamika shouted as white confetti headed straight for them.
"Not today!" Natsu yelled, releasing his breath attack.
"We've got them on the ropes!" Lucy said as plants soon appeared behind her, Yukino, and Arcadios.
"Lucy!"
"We got this!" Jim reassured. His weapon changed into a large sword as both him and Lily sliced at the plants, keeping them from attacking the three.
"One of those cats is using a sword that can change its size, while the other one can Requip weapons."
"Seems like we've got an all-out battle now." Lily claimed, resting his sword on his shoulder.
"Hey, big cats! I'm gonna melt you down to size!" Knepper claimed.
"I wonder if you'll actually manage that." Jim stated.
"I'm gonna cut you down the middle!" Lily added.
Kamika raised a piece of purple confetti. "Confetti... Purple Dance!" She shouted.
Purple confetti soon attached to everyone's bodies. "What the...?!" Natsu stated.
"I can't move!" Mira exclaimed.
"Is it this paper's fault?!" Lucy wondered.
"It's Anomalous Conditions Magic!" Wendy informed.
"Purple paper is the god of binding." Kamika said.
"And now we can do a beautiful combo, Grow Flow!" Cosmos shouted as a plant with a blue tip sprouted up and opened.
"It's huge!" Natsu yelled.
"Is that a plant?!" Wendy asked.
"Summoning-type magic?!" Lucy added.
"Feast on the criminals' lives." Cosmos said as the wind began to pick up and everyone began to fly into the air.
"We're being sucked in!" Lily said.
"Getting away? Oh, well, you don't have what it takes to beat me anyway." Knepper claimed.
"Bastard!" Jim shouted.
"Yukino!"
Mira grabbed onto Yukino. "Wendy!" She called out.
"Right! I'll free your bodies of paralysis!" Wendy said. "Anomalous Conditions Healing Magic... Laser!"
Everyone's bodies soon began to have a green glow. "We're glowing..." Lucy pointed out.
The purple paper soon disappeared. "It worked!" Natsu said.
"All right, I can move!" Lily said.
"But now that!" Lucy exclaimed, referring to the plant.
"What do we do?!" Jim questioned.
"Only one thing we can do! Destroy it!" Natsu replied.
"Okay!"
"Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!" Natsu shouted.
"Wait! I have a bad feeling about this!" Lucy exclaimed.
An explosion soon appeared as Hisui was looking out towards the stadium.
"Is that true?!"
"We just received the report!"
"That sounds promising."
"We don't need to worry anymore!"
"Princess! The Garou Knights went in to execute the criminals!"
Hisui turned around at the mention of the executioners, a worried look etched onto her face.
"No one can escape them!"
"They're the kingdom's strongest executioners!"
"All of my plans are backfiring." Hisui clenched her gloved fist. "Please be safe, Arcadios."
Back in the Hell Palace, Natsu and Akame sat up from the debris. "We fell another long way." Akame informed.
"Hey! Is everybody okay?!" Natsu shouted.
"It seems that shockwave scattered everyone. But my knights are highly capable. None of your people will live to go home." Kama claimed.
"If Lucy and I get separated here, what's the point anymore?" Natsu said. "Sorry, but I need to put off our fight."
"Although I guess you won't go for that, huh? I'll ask your name at least." Akame added.
"I don't give my name to criminals."
Wendy was walking alone. "Everyone! Where are you?!" She called out. "What should I do? I don't see signs of anyone else."
"Beautiful..." Cosmos appeared on a plant, getting Wendy's attention. "No. Sweet rather than beautiful. But I'm going to execute you."
Lily and Jim came face to face with Knepper. "Dammit! I got separated from everyone. Stupid of me!" Lily scolded himself.
"Now we got this guy to deal with." Jim added.
Knepper laughed. "Right now, neither Lucy nor Yukino can use their Celestial Spirit Magic. We have to settle this quick and then go off to help them!" Lily informed as Jim agreed with him.
"What's that? Huh?" Knepper taunted as his bottle glowed. "Settle this quick?"
"Lucy! Yukino! Where are you?!" Mira shouted as she was with Zack.
"Akame! Dusk!" Zack called out.
"This is no good. It looks like we're totally separated from them." Mira said.
Confetti soon fell as Kamika appeared behind Mira and Zack. "You need to be paying attention." Kamika stated.
"Kamika-san, is that right? Do you know where our friends went?" Mira questioned.
"Yes, I know. To the afterlife." Kamika responded.
"Ouchie..." Happy mumbled.
"What is this? Jeez..." Carla muttered.
"Natsu went overboard!" Lucy complained.
"It's ridiculously scary how him and Akame are exactly alike..." Dusk commented.
"I wonder how far we've fallen." Chii said.
"Is this Hell Palace too?" Bruno questioned.
"Are we separated from everybody else? That can't be good, right?" Lucy asked.
"And of all things, only one of us can use magic..." Carla stated.
"Actually, I hate to be the bearer of bad news. But since we're underground, my magic is weakened at the moment." Dusk informed.
"Without our keys, we can't summon Celestial Spirits." Yukino pointed out.
"Let's search for the others." Happy suggested. "If we don't meet up with them, we'll be..."
Happy began to get raised into the air. "Happy?" Lucy questioned.
"What are you playing at?" Carla asked.
"I'm not playing! My body is floating on its own!" Happy replied as they spotted it was Uosuke's doing.
"Him!" Lucy exclaimed.
"Caught you-tai!" Uosuke said.
"I'm not a fish!" Happy said.
"Tai? Liar!"
"I'm a cat! How can you see me as a fish?"
"You're hiding fish!" Uosuke said as a fish appeared from Happy's backpack.
"Cut it out! That's for my lunch!" Happy shouted as Lucy, Yukino, and Dusk sweat dropped.
"What's with this guy?" Lucy asked.
"Even amongst those executioners, he's high-spirited." Dusk added.
"The same level as Happy!" Carla said.
"But..." Yukino trailed off.
"W-What?!" Happy said.
"Release!" Uosuke released Happy, causing him to let go of his fish and being sent to the wall.
"Happy!"
"What's he doing?!" Bruno wondered.
"I'm Uosuke the Executioner!" Uosuke introduced himself.
"That's a lovely name." Lucy said.
"I think we can win this even without magic!" Happy said in irritation.
"Could be..." Chii mumbled.
"Saying things like that... is gonna make me mad." Uosuke claimed.
"Hard to hook him..."
"But we may be able to beat him yet. He seems like the weakest link." Lucy said. "Yukino, Dusk, can you fight?"
"Yes. I've been trained for combat, even without magic." Yukino replied.
"So have I." Dusk added.
"N-No. Don't do it!" Arcadios warned, making Lucy, Yukino, and Drake turn around.
"Arcadios-sama..." Yukino muttered.
"You mustn't fight him! He's... Uosuke is... a terrifying wizard who doesn't even leave behind the bones of the people he executes." Arcadios said.
"You're kiddin' right?" Dusk asked.
"That?" Lucy questioned, also not believing it.
"You're making me mad!" Uosuke exclaimed.
"Life is fleeting. Sing of your crimes." Kama said.
"I don't remember doin' anything bad, though..." Natsu stated.
"Put your hand on your heart and look back on your past. I'll give you time to recall your sins."
"Man, you're persistent. He said he doesn't remember us doin' anything wrong." Akame claimed.
Back at the stadium, Harumi's body twitched in irritation. "Something wrong, Master?" Dawn, who was now able to walk, joined her guild in the stands. She had been caught up on everything that she missed.
"Nothing. For some reason, I just recalled all the letters of apology I've written." Harumi replied. "Come to think of it, we've caused our share of problems here and there."
"We have Akame to thank for that. The Council started calling us the new Fairy Tail." Ajar sighed.
"Speaking of which, we haven't heard anything back since the Rescue Team left. I hope they're okay." Hana said in worry.
"I'm sure they're fine." Aly reassured.
"If we win here, we'll have an audience with the king and explain everything. But I doubt a letter of apology would cut it." Riku pointed out.
"Yes. If only a letter of apology could resolve it..." Harumi mumbled.
Atugia was looking at the screen. "Still, the match hasn't progressed."
"That's because the imperial capital is huge, and there aren't many people left." Ajar explained.
"And only the strong ones managed to get by." Riku added. "Running into the wrong opponent could suddenly put the team at a disadvantage, so they're probably being careful."
Millianna was peeking behind a wall. "No one's here. Okay, okay..." She then looked at the scoreboard. "That being said, it's suddenly down to me and Kagura-chan! And the odds are totally against us. What should I do? Maybe I should look for Kagura-chan and team up with her..."
Millianna then noticed a cat nearby. "A cat! Come here, kitty-kitty-kitty! So cute! Come here, I said!" She exclaimed, unaware that Minerva was watching her from the rooftop.
"Criminals, are you prepared? It's time for your execution." Kama said.
"I guess we got not choice then." Natsu stated.
"The only way to get by you is kickin' your ass!" Akame claimed as him and Natsu got into a fighting stance. Kama took his swords out, with Akame and Natsu being able to dodge on time.
"This guy..." Akame muttered as he leaped into the air.
"Why do you dodge me?" Kama asked.
"It's the normal thing to do!" Natsu responded.
"I'm only after the heads of criminals." Kama claimed.
"You're a scary son of a bitch." Akame commented.
"No. A criminal like you who doesn't recognize his own sins is what's scary." Kama stated.
"Are you still harping on that?!" Natsu asked as him and Akame charged forward.
Knepper slammed his acid-covered fist on the ground as Lily and Jim were able to dodge just in time. "What's wrong? Weren't you gonna cut me in half?" He taunted.
"Magic acid is a pain in the ass. I can't defend it with my sword!" Lily claimed.
"True. We are at a disadvantage here." Jim agreed.
"My acid can melt anything! Soon enough, those swords will be puddles!" Knepper stated.
"Is the source of this magic the contents of that bottle? Although it doesn't look like he's gonna run out... Anyway, Jim and I can't win this if we don't get close!" Lily thinks to himself.
"Melt! Melt!" Knepper exclaimed as both Jim and Lily hid. "You don't know when to give up! But prepare yourself... for execution!"
Knepper melted the ground again as Lily and Jim came out of hiding.
"Even when you're at a disadvantage," Lily started to think.
"you should use that to your advantage!" Jim finished.
"You're naive!" Knepper insulted as the ground split. "Petty tricks don't work on me. You can't run or hide! And now Knepper-sama is going to melt you!"
Red confetti surrounded Mira and Zack. "I remember you. The Demon, Mirajane. You used to be an S-Class wizard, right? But you're totally different from the rumors I heard." Mira and Zack fell to the ground. "I heard you were extremely strong and scary." Kamika claimed.
"I don't understand. You can use all this multi-colored magic and you're an executioner?" Mira questioned.
"What? You're going to lecture me instead of fight? That's pretty cheeky for a criminal. I'm going to give you the rough treatment before sending you to the other side." Kamika said while smirking.
Plants charged forward at Wendy, causing her to leap into the air and dodge. "I'm Cosmos. What's your name, beautiful criminal?" Cosmos asked.
"I'm Wendy Marvell!"
"Oh, that's a lovely name. I'll remember it. Even after I execute you, Wendy-san." Cosmos claimed.
"That's not going to happen. I'm also a Fairy Tail wizard." Wendy said. "After I take you down, I'm going to look for everyone else."
Cosmos laughed. "Then I shall also fulfill my duty as an executioner." She stated as roots grew around Wendy.
"What is this?!" Wendy questioned as dried plums soon appeared. "D-Dried plums?"
"Too bad! They resemble dried plums, but they're different. They're magical fruit, so fill up!" Cosmos said.
The plums soon attacked Wendy as she ran away. "Oh! Maybe you hate sour food?" Cosmos guessed, causing Wendy to halt in her tracks.
"N-No. That's not true. I love... dried plums!" Wendy responded.
"I'm glad to hear it! I love things that taste sour, too! Incidentally, this fruit is ten times more sour than dried plums." Cosmos informed, taking a bite of the plum.
"Ten times?! It's that sour?!" Wendy exclaimed.
Cosmos lips puckered. "I can't get enough of this sourness!" She stated. "Here, you try one, too! Come on! Come on!"
Uosuke stomps on the ground. "Topography effect! Lava zone!" He called out as the ground trembled before turning red.
"Something's coming!" Lucy informed.
"Yes!" Yukino nodded.
"Be on guard!" Dusk warned.
"Carla..."
"What is this? The ground is..." Carla looked around.
"...burning?!" Arcadios finished.
The ground soon split, causing lava to appear through the cracks as Dusk, Lucy, and Yukino were separated.
"Lucy! Yukino! Dusk!" Arcadios called out as he got separated as well.
The three of them were holding onto the ledge of the rocks. "Shit!" Dusk cursed.
"There they are!" Carla noticed.
"Hold on, you three!" Bruno shouted.
"We're on our way!" Happy exclaimed.
Uosuke soon caught Happy, Carla, Bruno, and Chii. "He caught me again!" Happy shouted.
"I'm not a fish either!" Carla complained.
"Tophography effect! Gravity zone!" Uosuke shouted, sending Happy, Carla, and Bruno to the ground.
"Happy! Carla!" Lucy exclaimed.
"Bruno! Chii!" Dusk yelled.
"Body's... heavy..." Happy managed to get out.
"Is this gravity-manipulating magic?" Chii wondered.
"Yukino, Dusk, hang in there!" Lucy told them.
"Okay! But if we put some muscle into it, I think the rock is going to give way." Yukino informed.
"Criminals will be executed and not even their bones will be left behind-tai!" Uosuke exclaimed.
"Lucy! Yukino!" Arcadios called out, watching from a slab of rock.
Lucy, Yukino, and Dusk's boots began to burn. "Stay alive! You two are our only hope!" Arcadios claimed.
"Arcadios-sama..." Yukino muttered.
"You're talking about that again at a time like this?!" Lucy scolded. "Sorry, but I'm not going to help you with that!"
Arcadios began to walk forward. "Eclipse won't work without the both of you. For that sake..." Arcadios stepped into the lava. "...I would gladly pay with my life!"
"What are you doing?!" Lucy questioned.
"You'll die!" Dusk exclaimed.
Arcadios continued walking through the lava towards the three of them.
A/N: Another chapter is completed!
Thanks for reading!
~ Kaleb.