"I wonder what a silent girl and a little fairy can do to me?" Midnight snorted, hopping off of his flying carpet, and approaching Juvia and Lucy. "A girl who seems to have nothing to do or say, and a pathetic fairy. Should be pretty easy for me, don't you think?"
Juvia raised an eyebrow. "Hmmph. It appears you underestimate us."
"Juvia –" Lucy started worriedly.
"Do it," Juvia told her. "Now."
Lucy could barely feel her keys, reaching for the strongest one she had. There was just enough water in the unstopped, ceramic barrel the room held for her to activate the key and open Aquarius' gate. Her most volatile and pissy spirit was also her strongest. Aquarius could get the two of them out of whatever they had been thrust into. Lucy hesitated, briefly fumbling with her keys, hands shaking. There's no way Juvia and I can defeat this guy in a clean fight. He was not going to play nice, either, for the sake of being fair. It went unspoken, but the two of them were very much of one mind in the moment. He was a mercenary. A member of a dark guild. And, by the looks of it, he was the kind of person that might enjoy doing terrible things to people for the sake of a pay cut. Juvia thought worse. She was fully convinced by the way he moved alone that this man was a sadist, one of the worst, and that they needed to buy themselves some time. Their thoughts flew by in a matter of seconds. As Lucy opened the gate of the water bearer, Juvia used her own water to all but fly above where she knew Aquarius' terrifying might would be unleashed. Within a few seconds, the larger than life zodiac spirit emerged from the barrel and angrily charged at Midnight, creating a tsunami out of thin air. Careful to pin point her target, Juvia dove at Midnight, almost turning into a whirlpool when she met Aquarius in the water.
The two of them whipped him around, almost beating him senseless, and, then, with just time to spare, they threw him out of the waves and into the air.
The force caused him to slam into the ceiling. He hit his head, and he fell to the ground, his carpet coming to a standstill. He laid there, twitching a bit, and then rolled over. Unconscious. He was completely unconscious. But for how long? It was a gamble. The water of both Juvia and Aquarius began to dissipate around them. Exhausted, Lucy briefly collapsed against the wall and held her head. Juvia came all the way down, and then walked over to Lucy to help her back up to her feet. Instead of returning to the spirit realm, however, Aquarius lingered and turned to Lucy. Juvia snorted when she noticed, certain the psychopath of a spirit was about to lose her damn mind. By the look on Lucy's face when she was back on her feet, that probably wasn't a terrible assumption to make. Setting her vase to her hips, and flicking her tail up indignantly, Aquarius narrowed her eyes and stared the mage down. She had punished Lucy before, per their contract, and had no qualms about doing so now even though the heat of the fight had not dissipated. Juvia could only imagine what Lucy was preparing herself for (whipping, slapping, really any form of a beating that a person could have the misfortune of encountering), but she paused when she heard moaning from across the room. Midnight.
Juvia squared her shoulders and waited, ready to tear out of the room with Lucy to and find where the others were.
"What did I tell you about using my key in funky places?" Aquarius snapped, briefly seizing Lucy by the shoulders and causing the blonde to squeak. "Don't you dare try that again!"
Lucy grimaced. "Sorry, ma'am!"
Midnight started moaning again. Aquarius whipped him a couple of times to knock him fully unconscious again, and then disappeared without another word.
A few seconds passed in awful silence. Lucy suddenly ran over to Juvia and caught her in a hug that Juvia, after a few seconds, wholeheartedly reciprocated. The two then cast wary looks at the unconscious Midnight, then steeling themselves. Probably for the best we find the others. It was by a stroke of luck the two of them had been able to deal with Midnight (something they felt more and more with each passing second). They checked themselves. They looked around one more time. They ran. With no idea of where to go or where anyone else was, they kept together, running as far away from where they had left Midnight as possible. They were not the only ones who were lost. Natsu, Happy, and Gray were themselves struggling to defend each other and fight the next maniac they had the misfortune of running into. By all accounts, as Gray would remark later, calling their opponent a maniac was an understatement. Not only was he fighting with the earth itself, he would not shut up about the power of money. Natsu was so irritated, as it happened, that he wanted to set magic aside and simply throttle their opponent until he stopped talking.
If anything were apparent to the Salamander, the Exceed, and the just about naked Gray, it was that the annoyance their opponent could inflict was just about boundless.
Still, the three were still holding their own and defending themselves well enough to even land a few attacks. That did not make things any less bad. The only one of them who thought this situation was preferable to any of the others they could have stumbled into was Natsu. For as obnoxious as this man was, he was nowhere close to inducing motion sickness of any kind. For the Salamander, that was more than enough to make a fight 'easy' in his mind. For his part, Happy was a bit too enthused himself, flying in circles around their opponent while Natsu and Gray just about played catch with the man's attacks and their own fire and ice magic respectively. Happy was making increasingly ridiculous and incoherent declarations as the fight went on, and seemed to finally be annoying their opponent as much as he annoyed the Salamander, the Exceed, and Gray. Believing they were close to grasping the upper hand, Natsu and Gray synchronised briefly, and let down their defences to throw a few well aimed attacks. To their relief, they struck, and apparently damaged their opponent. What they did not account for was the man's angered response. Hoteye quickly struck back, summoning a large pool of mud and whipping it upwards like a tidal wave. With a laugh, he bore it down upon Gray, who was unable to get out of the way like Natsu and Happy had by mere seconds.
"Shit!" Gray cursed, disgusted by all of the mud that had hit him. He wiped some of it off himself. "At least I'm not wearing the damn silks Juvia bought me."
Natsu snickered, Happy egging him on while he started spitting fire at Hoteye, who seemed increasingly disturbed by them.
"I think your girlfriend's feelings about clothes you're not going to wear are the least of your problems!" Natsu told him. "Stab him or something!"
Taking Natsu's words to heart, Gray eyed their opponent intently and began to focus. Ur's words came back to him. Focus on why you're making something just as much as you focus on what you're making. Within a few seconds, ice began to fly around Hoteye. It was surprisingly effective, and all happened in a matter of seconds. Ice encapsulated some of the man's attacks and suspended them in midair. Had the situation not been so serious, it could have looked almost artistic. Stunned, and struggling to regain control over his magic, Hoteye took a defencive approach, and used the most powerful spell he could manage to knock back Happy. There was something about that damn, flying blue cat that unnerved him. Continuing to be relentlessly assaulted by Natsu (who had just about no idea what he was doing anymore), Hoteye felt his stomach sink. I underestimated them. It was to no surprise that many assumed Fairy Tail wizards showed off far more than they did any real magic. So far as many were concerned, they were about as powerful as a magical theatre troupe.
That was seeming less and less accurate.
Shaking, and knowing their plans were far too important to abandon, Hoteye used all the magic strength he could conjure to dispel a binding. He started to run. The second he knew he couldn't be hit, he vanished into a pool of mud. Natsu, Gray, and Happy all shared a confused look. Happy started to babble something about how strange it was that the weirdo chose to run away. What the three of them did not realise was that it had been a part of the plan from the start. Things were not happening here by accident, nor by coincidence. They had no idea there was a second mastermind behind the presence of the Oración Seis in the Tower Of Heaven. No one did, no one apart from the Oración Seis themselves and Jellal. The Oración Seis were only a distraction in the larger game. Deep in the shadows, and not to be seen, Brain, their leader, was in sharp discussion with the boss, and he was not called Jellal. He tried to argue, but could not. Irritably, he resigned himself to listen.
"And?" He hissed after Ivan was done. "What are we supposed to do with so many of us out of Jellal's game?"
"Angel will deal with the Wizard Saint," Ivan said shortly. "Do not worry yourself. I have much bigger plans for the six of you after this is over."
Brain stared at him incredulously but then, in a flash of light, he was gone.
Their orders were clear.
No one defied Ivan Dreyar if they valued their life.
True to his word, Jellal was unleashing the full extent of the powers granted to him by his possession. Breaking through their defencive stance, Jellal tore through Erza and Siegrain. The two of them were flung in opposite directions across the room. In the space between, Jellal was shaking, his head whipping back and forth. Magic energy was rising around him. Zeref was screaming at him to take Erza, to sacrifice her. His eyes caught on his brother. His brother, the only one he was truly angry with. Siegrain. You were given everything both of us should have had. This is going to be retribution, show which of us is truly the strongest. Zeref – or whatever it was inside his mind – was shouting, but he was a bit stronger. The bond between twins was overwhelming, albeit not enough to dispel the curse. His sword drawn, Jellal took it upon himself to take his twin on in a classical duel. Siegrain met him with no hesitation. It was a duel of the worst kind. Back on her feet, Erza started towards Jellal but was cut short. Another member of the Oración Seis stepped out from within the stairwell, and they were by no means looking for child's play. Erza whipped around on her heel, hearing their entrance, and it was then she realised they, too, took the fight personally. The sneer on his face said it all, as did the anger in his eyes. He, too, must have thought she had abandoned them all when she had escaped.
Maybe you had.
"Feeling guilty, Erza?" Cobra dryly taunted. "A little late for that, don't you think?"
Before she could respond, just as much out of the blue, Natsu triumphantly came out from the stairwell, letting out a war whoop apparently directed at Gray and Happy. Cobra turned around, and Natsu charged at him, either enraged by everything about the situation or overly energised for finally having found his teammate and the Wizard Saint. The Salamander was lucky not to be bitten by his new opponent's poisonous pet, or scratched by his fingers which were, though he did not know it, infused with the power only held by a poison dragon slayer. Cobra refocused and was far more fixated on Erza, and chased her attacks. He seemed oblivious to Gray and Happy running out from within the stairwell, too. Erza kept requipping. Distraction. It did little. He could still hear her thoughts. Her heart pounding, she sent forth her swords, dodged, skidded, and rolled to avoid his own attacks. We grew up here, went through so much here…why did we have to reunite here and in a fight? It was unbelievable, and terrible all the same. Her head dizzy, Erza shielded herself the best she could, struggling to strategise. She only managed to scrape him a little. It would not be enough to subdue him.
It was a damn good thing that Natsu was so relentless himself, never once backing down. The fact he did not know what the phrase 'pick your battles' meant was useful now. He was the perfect distraction, alongside Happy. Gray, admittedly, seemed to be feeling very much the same in his attempts to help her against Cobra. The poison dragon slayer barely knew what to do about the flying cat that was too fast to catch and kept poking at and tugging on him. Natsu's flames were obnoxious, and so were his thoughts. Gray's mind felt almost impossible to discern by the sheer difference between his thought patterns and Natsu's. The two of them, the cat, and Erza were something of a nightmare to separate. They were too close together, too apparently aligned. He staved them off. It was becoming harder and harder to focus on Erza with every passing second, however, especially with all of the –
"You fight like an animal," Siegrain snapped, breaking the silence and using his magic to block what could have been a fatal attack from his brother's blade. A loud crack rang out when the blade hit the blocking spell. "An animal seeking nothing but blood."
"I only need one sacrifice," Jellal shouted, trying to push his blade past his brother's when they locked again. "It is supposed to be her, but I'd rather it be you than Er –"
His words were cut off by the object of his affection finally pinning Cobra to the wall with several swords, aided by Natsu in causing far too much mental chaos for him to effectively read their thoughts. His knife was lodged in her side, but she was otherwise alright for the time being. Further footsteps were heard coming up the stairs on the other side. Two more emerged: Lucy and Juvia. They were pushed back by Gray, and took a minute to figure out what was happening. Siegrain and Jellal appeared not to notice anyone else, too fixated on each other. Natsu moved in to beat Cobra unconscious (fitting retribution for stabbing Erza, so far as he was concerned), but a harsh blast that rained down from above prevented him from doing so. A beautiful woman in feathery clothes appeared before them, and gracefully landed on the ground in a slight plié. She smiled at them, an odd gesture, and snapped her fingers at Cobra. In a bright flash, he was whisked away from the increasingly fierce battle.
They were all stunned for a moment, Jellal included. The brief reprieve was all it took for Siegrain to nearly get a good slice on his brother. Jellal, quick as always, blocked it with a shield of miasmas summoned from the palm of his free hand. Their tempest of swords and shields then resumed in an instant. Flurry after flurry of quick stabs that bore no actual damage flew after each other, with them both having only one target but very different intents. Jellal sought to kill. Siegrain sought to subdue. The disconnect between the two only seemed to worsen with time. Being apart for so long, they had lived very different lives. No freedom, no autonomy. Cruelty, pain. Fight or flight. They were the only things Jellal had known as constants as a child. Even friends could have disappeared or died. Many had. Luxury, a close adoptive family. Revelry, opulence. Everything in the world being within reach. Siegrain had gotten all of that, and more, and now had managed to become not only a member of the Ishgar Magic Council but a Wizard Saint. They were twins. It was not fair, what separation had brought.
"Lovely," The angelic woman said with a devilish glare to them all after looking almost bored at Siegrain and Jellal's continued flurry at each other. "It seems they've left me more. But it's all child's play, don't you agree? Is it really much of a fight when you're all –"
Angel only laughed and opened her gates when Natsu and Gray both ran at her. A flurry of spirits flew out at them. Fire and ice consumed some of them, but both of them had underestimated her. Amidst the ever changing array of spirits, Natsu and Gray kept charging at her but were struggling to get close enough to hit her directly. In the chaos, Juvia whipped water towards Angel, and she managed to smack her back. Angel stumbled a little bit, taken aback by the power that come for her. She then created a sword of flames to parry off Natsu's increasingly relentless (and most concerning, to her) charging against her. Erza, still on her knees from the fight with Cobra, pulled herself up. She closed her eyes for a few seconds, clenching her fists, and resenting the dizziness and shakiness that seemed to seize her. Still, she requipped again, and started towards Jellal. Jellal. She could barely believe how little playing dirty seemed to bother him. This is not you, Jellal. What happened? Jellal held his own against his brother, and Erza as she ran at him, too. Each movement Siegrain made was almost instantly mirrored by his brother, who sensed them through the unnatural powers granted to him by the voices inside of his head. As Angel toyed with avoiding the attacks of Natsu, Gray, Juvia, and Lucy, Jellal tried to focus himself. He pushed Erza back, a bit surprised when he felt Siegrain was trying to stop her from interrupting them himself.
Is this how you want things, Siegrain? For this to be between brothers? I only need one sacrifice…will you take Erza's place?
He did not relent.
Still using her spirits as shields, Angel found herself enjoying the show. Lucy, with Juvia still whipping at Angel, was summoning her own spirits. The pink haired child of a dragon, and that damn flying cat kept giving terrible war cries (read: nonsensically screaming) while they never let up against her. Gray, too, was hyper focused. Then, there was Erza. Siegrain and Jellal both seemed to be trying to shut her out. She broke through nonetheless, and, when she did, Siegrain did not protest her further. You're being foolish, Siegrain. Keeping this between you and Jellal would have been far more amusing. Angel smirked a bit at the thought. Her amusement began to wane, however, when a sharp snap of water and ice hit her in the back, seemingly out of the blue. Angel let out an angered cry of pain, and lashed out with her spirits once again. Her eyes flaring, she tossed her hair back. I can't lose like this. Not in this place. At the same time, Siegrain managed a cut on his brother, leaving him bleeding under his left eye. Erza managed to nick Jellal as well, and pushed him back. Far away, however, none of them knew Jellal had been projecting himself to a certain Council member for long enough to convince her to force the others to ready their most dangerous weapon.
You may be my brother, but, even with the prestige you have gained with these people…none of you are infallible.