With Erza having headed off to catch up to Natsu, both hell bent on defeating Jellal, it was only Belle and Simon left in the pod room watching over Riku.
Belle glanced at the pod healing her partner, taking some solace in the fact that he really did look plenty better off now. But...only physically-emotionally however...
Her heart clenched when she remembered what Erik told them. Jellal really was scum, what he had done already was bad enough. Forcing Riku through those horrid nightmares infuriated her to no end. She was amazed and so very glad that Riku had been able to power through that awful scheme-she really didn't want to think of the alternative.
How could anyone do such a horrible thing?
"You must be angry with us.''
She blinked and looked over at Simon as he joined her. ''This wouldn't have happened if something had been done about Jellal sooner.''
"What? No-why should I waste time pointing fingers?'' Belle looked honestly baffled. ''We've got bigger things to worry about. I can't speak for the others but the real reason I'm mad at Erza is that she was blocking us out. We're supposed to be a family and then she decides to deal with everything now? I wasn't about to let that stand. It's just...I was wondering how to help Riku-you don't get over something like this easily.''
Simon grimaced ''You're right...''
"Riku was always there for me.'' The purple cat looked down. ''I would've died if he hadn't found me in that rainstorm. He wasn't as open or friendly as he is now but I knew he was a good guy-he took me in when he didn't have to. I was really shy back then and a lot of things would scare me-especially when I remember the storm. I only felt safe when Riku was around for a while. I was so sure he was getting sick of me clinging to him so much but he never complained. There was this one night...''
Belle poked her head into Riku's room, finding him fast asleep. She fidgeted a little, now even more worried.
She was just getting used to being with everyone, Fairy Tail really was a nice place and it was full of kind people. She had nightmares every once in a while and she thought they stopped. But Natsu and Happy had played a prank on her today and it could've gotten someone hurt if Makarov hadn't intervened. While they may have laughed it off, it had proven to be quite a scare for Belle as she realized with the nightmare she dealt with earlier.
Riku had been so good at helping her with those but he must be getting sick of it by now. She didn't want to trouble him...but what could she do? Belle didn't think she could go back to sleep after this.
The cat would only later realize how tired she had actually been as she nodded off. Yet, strangely enough-she woke up feeling rather comfortable. And she had no more nightmares...
Imagine her surprise as she found herself wrapped up comfortably in Riku's bed.
"Eh? What...?'' She sat up.
Riku, who had been looking for something on his desk, glanced back at her ''Oh, you're up. Just what did you think you were doing back there? If you did want help than you could've asked-why were you sleeping on the floor?''
He sighed after Belle meekly explained her reasoning. ''Honestly...no one said you were any trouble. I'm the one who chose to take care of you and if you want help than you can count on me because you deserve it. It's that simple.''
Belle couldn't help smiling at this, knowing he meant every word. ''Thanks!''
As she would later find out, he made a point of taking Natsu and Happy to task for the thoughtless prank. The others in the guild made a point of standing back and watching, believing they had it coming in spades.
Simon looked amused ''That does sound like him. Riku's trust is hard to earn but when you pull it off, he'll always be there for you.''
"Yup!'' Belle felt better thanks to that memory. She would make sure to be there to help Riku just like he had been for her. No doubt about it.
"He told me a bunch about you guys...you know that if he had any idea what was going on, he would have been looking for a way to bail you out in a heartbeat, right?''
Oh, I don't doubt that.'' Simon returned sadly, this was another reason why he felt they failed him.
He picked up two lacrimas he had just finished preparing and placed them near her. ''As I recall, dragon slayers get strength when they eat their element. These are charged with darkness magic-give them to Riku when he wakes up.''
Belle blinked ''Okay, but what're you...?''
"I'm going to help Erza and Natsu. I don't doubt for a second that they've headed to fight Jellal-I'm not just going to stand back after all what happened.''
She gave him a worried look but nodded ''Be careful.''
Simon gave a slight smile and patted her head before heading out.
Erik scowled as the area shifted again, resembling the inside of a volcano.
Ainsley had two strange magics he had never seen before. One he called Terrain Effect, which as the name seemed to imply, allowed him to manipulate their surroundings to cause various effects. Such as controlling gravity, conjuring hot winds and big whirlpools. It was confusing because he couldn't tell where the attacks would come from when the zones change but his reflexes and Cubelios' help allowed him to manage well enough. Erik once again thanked his lucky stars he had Sound magic or this would've been a lot more troublesome.
His eyes narrowed as numerous shadows rose to defend Ainsley from his Roar attack. This was the stickler. It was some sort of eye magic but he had never seen anything like it. Ainsley could shape shadows into what he wanted, create strange-demonic like figures and use them to guard. Sound magic couldn't help either as Ainsley didn't even seem to think much while using this power, creating it in seconds.
Another change resulted in a windy area which left him and Cubelios struggling to hold on so they wouldn't be blown away. Ainsley scoffed ''This is a waste of time. Give up. You can't beat me or Jellal.''
Erik scoffed ''Keep telling yourself that.''
"And just what do you think you can do now? I control this entire battlefield. Bravado wouldn't do you any good.''
The dragon slayer ignored his continuing taunts, He wasn't like some of his more hot headed friends. He was sure some like Natsu, would have been enraged. No, people like Erik and Riku were among the Fairy Tail members who made sure to calculate their moves in battle. They were far from finished.
Erik suppressed a smirk when he saw something that could help them. ''Cubelios.''
The snake blinked and followed his line of sight, spotting a big rock that had been sent flying in all the gales. A glint flashed in her eyes as she caught on, swiftly thrusting her tail to smack it in Ainsley's direction. Since the wind only covered one side of the field, the man was forced to dodge as it would have surely hit him otherwise.
Ainsley stiffened in surprise when he realized that Erik had taken advantage of this to get out of the wind's range, charging at him as he unleashed Poison Dragon's Twin Fang. A large amount of poison was shaped into fang shaped waves, the first he managed to avoid but the second hit him straight on.
Erik smirked as the man cringed, glaring at him ''I told you, didn't I? We're not done yet.''
Natsu encountered another of Trinity Raven's members, a swordswoman named Ikaruga. She quickly proved to be a dangerous adversary, slicing through all in her path with deadly accuacy.
Only the teen's enhanced senses and reflexes enabled him to dodge the worst of the damage from her next ''D-damn...I've never seen any girl this good with a sword since Erza...''
"You don't say?'' A small smile played on Ikaruga's lips. ''It's a shame she isn't here, I've been wondering what it'd be like to face her. You certainly don't measure up, little boy.''
Natsu growled ''Don't write me off just yet-Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!''
He froze as the fiery waves were effectively nullified with a few flashes from her sword. Ikaruga looked on smugly as only embers remained ''There is nothing my sword can't cut.''
Seeing Fukuro purposefully target Happy again and again, Gray quickly used an ice shield to protect him. Once he grabbed Sho, the blond quickly aimed a few cards at the Trinity Raven member to stop his next attack, forcing him to let go.
Something the man mentioned threw Gray for a loop ''Was he seriously going to eat you?!''
Sho appeared equally repulsed ''I heard Trinity Raven had some rare magics but I never expected this...they do say Fukuro was described as a vulture in the battlefield...'''
Fukuro gave a haugty laugh ''If this surprises you, you have a long way to go. Take this-Jet Ho Ho Hou!''
Around the same time, Wally and Millanna were finishing off the last grunts trapping them.
"Y-you're nothing but traitors...'' One managed to say.
"Jellal betrayed us first. We just didn't know it.'' Wally spat.
Millianna looked angry ''Yeah. There's no way we'd help him-especially after what he did to Riku! We'll do all we can to get rid of this tower for good!''
Erza quickly discovered that Jellal hadn't just hired Trinity Raven, but other members of their guild as well. But she wasn't about to let that daunt her.
Requipping two swords, she swiftly struck two attacking enemies down. A water spell came at her from another enemy but she requipped her Sea Empress armor's trident to absorb it, returning the attack two fold. She spun the trident around, releasing a wave of water that blew all the nearby enemies away.
She was through beating herself up, through letting Jellal get to her. The traitor would answer for all he had done. 'For what he did to my friends for all the suffeirng he caused...Riku, I pray you can forgive me. My cowardice ends today. Jellal is going to pay dearly for what he did to you.'
Lucy ducked to avoid an oncoming water whip ''Stop it!'' A shrill laugh followed this, making her glare at the other side of the battlefield. ''Leave her alone!''
Vidaldus Taka, the third member of Trinity Raven, only smirked as he held up his guitar and strummed it. Juvia slowly approached Lucy almost as in response, with a wide grin. Like the man, she was now wearing dark clothes and a spiked collar around her neck with so much makeup that her skin appeared white.
The two of them had encountered the dark mage a short while ago and his strange abilities had thrown them for a loop. Somehow, his hair easily absorbed Juvia's water magic for one. The big problem now was that he used some odd sound magic Lucy had never heard of to take control of Juvia and turn her against the blonde. No matter how Lucy tried to reach out to the girl, it just didn't seem to work.
"Wow, you girls are boring.'' Vidaldus sneered. ''I was looking forward to a cat fight but if this is how it'll be, I'll just have her finish you off.''
Lucy yelped as she tried to avoid a big water blast coming her way a second later. ''Juvia...please...''
She really didn't want to fight the girl. Okay, Juvia was a little odd-like calling her a Love Rival (which she frankly did not understand) but she was a good person. She had helped those soldiers escape Jellal's attack simply because she wanted to. Even Riku's ability to sense malice got nothing from her-whatever reasons she had for joining Phantom, she had clearly turned things around.
Vidaldus laughed ''You're gonna have to try a lot harder than that to have any chance at stopping my Rock of Succubus, little girl. Either we finish you off or Jellal would once the game's over, either way, you're screwed!''
"You creeps think this is a game?!'' She demanded angrily. ''Jellal stole the chance his friends had at freedom, he threatened Erza all this time and he tried to break Riku. How dare you even think...?!'' Her fists clenched as the man only cackled, his words making it clear that he found it all amusing. ''...I should've known. You people are of the same rotten mold.''
Her eyes narrowed as Juvia prepared another big water attack. She had to do something...
Wait a minute, water? Of course! Lucy ran towards the girl, grabbing a certain golden key.
"Gate of the Water Bearer, I open thee!'' Then she stuck the key in Juvia's body, to the enemy's surprise. ''Aquarius!''
The water spirit emerged with the usual bell-like chime. She rounded on Lucy ''What have I told you about summoning me in weird places after all this time?! And what the hell is this?!''
"I'm sorry!'' Lucy wailed ''But it was the best I could think of-just look!''
Aquarius quirked a brow and looked over the area, her eyes settling on Juvia for a moment. ''Oh, I see. A water body, huh?''
Lucy hurried to the girl as she fell to her knees ''Juvia!''
"Ohh, what a babe! Looks like this is just going to get better and better! I'm gonna have fun with you!'' Vidadlus chirped.
The mermaid sneered at the lecherous look he gave her ''...Forget any of my complaints just now. Wailing on this creep is going to be damn cathatric.''
Lucy couldn't have said it better herself ''Be my guest!''
As Aquarius proceeded to attack, Juvia looked up-tears in her eyes and face full of guilt. ''Lucy-san, Juvia's so sorry! Juvia didn't want to hurt any of you. Juvia couldn't control herself at all and...and...''
She stopped when Lucy hugged her ''It's okay, I know you had no choice. We agreed to give you a chance, remember? And no one deserves to be stuck serving that creep.''
Juvia gave a shaky giggle ''Juvia couldn't agree more. Juvia feels disgusting simply being near him...''
Lucy gave an overly dramatic shudder ''You're telling me-I swear that slimeball was undressing us with his eyes.'' She blinked as Aquarius proceeded to whip the man with a strong tendril of water. ''That's surprisingly satisfying to watch.''
Juvia nodded, looking stunned as the angry spirit blasted him to a wall ''Is she always so...intense?''
"You haven't seen anything yet.''
The blue haired girl found herself very, very thankful she never had to face Aquarius back when she and Lucy were enemies. She wasn't sure she would've survived the experience.
She guessed her expression gave her away because Lucy patted her shoulder in commiseration ''Yeaaah, an angry Aquarius has that effect on people.''
"And Juvia thought Gajeel-kun was a monster...'' The water mage shook her head in awe. ''...the world really is a vast place.''
Lucy snorted ''Come on, let's do our parts too. Time for a little payback!''
"Yes!''
The girls grasped each other's hands, focusing their powers. In moments, a great amount of water gathered around them. Vidaldus, who had managed to pull himself up from Aquarius' onslaught, tried to use his magic to control the water only to find that he couldn't ''What the-?! How?!''
Aquarius looked on with a smirk, watching the two girls glow as their magics combined and forrmed a tornado of rushing water. She recognized this power in an instant, a rare phenomena known as a unison raid. ''Interesting...who would've thought the brat could pull thiss off?''
"Take this!'' The girls willed it forth, sweeping the man up and into the air. When it dissappeared, Vidaldus was seen unconsious on the ground while Lucy and Juvia were panting, with the latter's appearance having returned to normal.
The blonde perked up ''We did it!''
Juvia laughed a bit as the girl hugged her again ''Yes...thank you, Lucy-san.''
"Hey, it's a team effort!''
Aquarius cleared her throat pointedly ''Brat, I'm not going to warn you again...'' She had a dangerous look that made both the girls recoile slightly. ''...if you summon me in another weird place...''
"I know, I know-I'm sorry...'' Lucy trailed off.
The spirit huffed but seemed to decide to let this go ''Fine. I'm going on a two week vacation with my boyfriend. It's more than needed after this. I'd say you should get yourself one too but I wonder if that's possible...''
The girl frowned ''Yeah, like I haven't heard that before.'' Normally, she wouldn't dare talk back but after what she had learned recently, she really wasn't in the mood to deal with this. ''Look, just get us out of here and you can leave. I need to go check up to my friends.''
Aquarius snorted ''It'll get you out of my hair faster so all right. Come on.''
Erik hadn't really paid attention to the fact that they were moving in the midst of the battle until he heard an alarmed hiss from Cubelios. ''What's wrong?''
He couldn't see any particular trouble as Ainsley was just catching up to them and no other enemies were in sight. But Cubelios seemed shocked and repulsed-it was as if she recognized this hall. Only why?
Listening to his partner's thoughts made him freeze. ''This place?'' His eyes went wide as he found that he could actually recognize it.
Unlike Cubelios, he had only been here once. But given the memory associated with this place, he wasn't about to forget it soon. ''You've gotta be kidding me...''
This...this was the place where they discovered the existence of the curse.
Once Riku explained the situation, Rob and the others had gladly let him and Cubelios stay with them. It was a few days later that the consequences of this decisions.
It all started when Riku suddenly disappeared. Even in all the work they had been forced to do, none of them could find him. One of the other prisoners had been able to tell them that they spotted a guard taking him away-talking of some new experiment. Needless to say, this left them all alarmed and they hurried to help him.
Cubelios had been able to point them in the right direction and they found Riku strapped to a table. A dark skinned man with silver hair stood nearby wearing a white cape over a uniform. He had a cocky smile, telling the only other present guard to begin.
One of the devices moved, releasing a beam of light that struck Riku. Seconds later, he began screaming in pain. Riku had proven to have quite the pain tolerance early on so this was more than a little worrying.
"Stop it! What're you doing?'' Rob demanded.
The man blinked and turned to them ''Ho? It seems those guardss truly are failures. No matter. I've simply decided to utilize this chiid's magical potential.'' He gave an amused look at the obvious confusion this caused. ''You didn't know? He's a mage.''
Sho looked taken aback at this but Simon frowned ''That doesn't matter, let him go!''
"I think not. This is an excellent opportunity.'' He returned, sneering. ''To think I wouldn't have even learned of his power if he hadn't wound up interfering in my earlier work.'' Erik paled when the man smirked at him, catching on.
More guards came over, beginning to restrain everyone and the man carried on. ''It is quite an opportunity-to find a child with such potential so I've decided to fuse light and darkness magic with his magical core. It should prove quite intriguing.''
Rob bristled ''Are you insane?! Using opposing elements like that could kill him!'' The man just cackled as the children stiffened.
Cubelios bit one of the guards, making him yelp. Erik broke free and they helped Jellal and Erza do the same. The latter two hurried over, looking around in a panic. ''How do we stop this thing?!'' Jellal wondered.
'Simple, you can't.'' The man taunted.
The three started as Riku suddenly slumped.
The man raised an eye ''Nothing then?''
Erza paled ''Riku!''
As the guards drew closer on them, Riku stirred while a dark aura surrounded him...
Looking back, that had been what saved them. Riku had been able to thrash all the guards in that state, the rampant power nearly destroying everything in sight. It didn't last long though-he collapsed and they quickly took him away. They later realized that if this had gone any longer, Riku would've died.
The guards had been rather angry but refrained from retaliating under their superios' orders. Rob had been able to discover that it was because they were interested in the result and they likely wanted to see how they could use Riku. He would wake up days later, unable to remember any of what happened. They had initially assumed that it all happened because the experiment drove his power out of control. However, it was only when they arrived in Magnolia that they learned that this was the day the curse activated.
Just being here made Erik's temper flare, he could see that the hall been renovated and there were all sorts of strange items here and there. He even spotted what looked like a Rune Knight's bloody uniform on one side...
"Oh, so we're here. Hmph, maybe we could get more uses out of you idiots then.'' Ainsley sneered. ''One of those idiotic knights discovered what was going on and he paid the price. I'm sure you know what it's like-I'm told you would've been the guinea pig back then if it hadn't been for Bahamut. It was quite the story...''
Erik growled ''You bastards are all the same...'' Poison gathered around his fists ''...Jellal comes after you fall!''
With that declaration, he charged once again. Ainsley sneered, an aura of magic forming as he blocked Erik's oncoming fist. He attempted to punch him in the gut but Erik sidestepped that and kicked his side, punching his face a second later. The two proceeded to exchange blows but it was quickly becoming evident that Erik had the advantage. Realizing this, Ainsley used his eye magic to make a shadowy figure which grabbed him before using Terrain Effect again, this time making a freezing cold zone where cold winds and snow blew harshly.
Moments later, shadow spikes almost pierced Erik. He was saved by Cubelios, who tackled him out of the way before destroying the monster with her poison just as it lashed out.
"Cubelios!'' Erik's eyes widened as the snake fell as a result.
Ainsley laughed ''Pathetic-is that all you've got? Fairy Tail isn't much after all.''
The former couldn't help but note that the laugh sounded off, almost pained actually. It was as Ainsley moved that Erik realized his partner had gotten both him and his monster. Cubelios' poison was almost as potent as his own. Add that to the injuries they had given the man and he knew Ainsley was slowly getting worn down. With a silent thanks to his partner, Erik met their enemy's gaze head on.
"Say that after you win.'' He began preparing another attack.
Fukuro avoided more of Sho's cards but those turned out to be a distraction, for another techinque that was meant to trap him in a card. The dark mage avoided this too and punched Sho into a wall.
Wincing, the blond lifted up two cards and they released a rushing gust of air. Fukuro was thrown of balance as a result but he quickly charged back into the fight, unleashing his missiles on Sho and Gray. They tried to dodge but were blown back due to the resulting explosions. Gray aimed a few icy arrows but Fukuro merely swallowed one.
Gray stiffened ''What the-?!''
Fukuro gave a haughty laugh, unleashing strong cold winds towards Sho and Happy, who shivered. ''Hmph, my Vulture magic may not last much when I use it on magic but it's enough to do the trick. Eat this, Justice Ho-ho-Hou!''
Happy yelped as the attack pushed all three of them back. Sho grimaced ''The longer this drags on, the worse it gets.''
"Yeah...'' Gray kept an eye on Fukuro, who was flying back to attack them again. ''...we need some big attacks to end this and fast.''
"In that case, I can start us off. Follow my lead.'' The former returned.
Fukuro didn't seem to care that his enemies hardly made much moves, already charging to finish them off. ''Jet Ho-Ho-Hou!''
Sho smirked, tossing four cards into the air. They released bright flashes of light that merged together and a shining sphere flew in Fukuro's face, making him cry out in pain and surprise.
"There we go...Happy, can you give me a boost?'' Gray asked.
"Aye Sir! Ready when you are!''
Fukuro was struggling to recover, momentarily blinded. His flying became erratic and Gray used that to blast him with an Ice Cannon. He looked at Happy, who nodded and lifted him into the air.
"Max Speed!'' Happy and Gray became much faster as they flew at Fukuro, with the creation wizard making a pair of ice blades.
"Ice Make: Seven Slice Dance!''
Gray slashed Fukuro repeatedly, his power and momentum boosted by Happy. The final slash sent him crashing down, out cold.
"We won!'' Happy raised a paw, a smirking Gray held up a hand which he high-fived.
"You guys are amazing.'' Sho could freely admit that he wouldn't have lasted if the two of them hadn't been here. Fukuro had been a troublesome opponent but they never gave up for an instant, winning in the end.
So this was an example of Fairy Tail, Erza's family...his old friend had chosen well.
Ikaruga hummed as Natsu got up from another of her attacks ''I have to admit, you surprise me. You're certainly tenacious. Now...''
Natsu tensed as she prepared to attack. Before he knew it, someone rushed in and blocked her blade with another. ''Erza?!''
The knight mage attacked the stunned woman with blistering speed, unleashing a series of fast attacks which she barely managed to block. Although they did leave marks, Ikaruga remained relaxed ''Oh, such fire. And to think I heard you didn't even dare face Jellal before-did what happen to your beloved dark dragon hit you so hard?'' Erza bristled at the tone but the former smirked. ''It would've been you-you know. Even Jellal was surprised when Bahamut interfered-frankly, I think he's a pathetic fool.''
Erza and Natsu looked equally angry at this but Ikaruga didn't seem to care ''He didn't even make the cut in the end. And what did he accomplish by saving you? Nothing. But I suppose one pathetic fool deserves another.''
The redhead looked furious but she knew better than to simply blew her top off. Seeing the relatively dark area gave her an idea. There was a much better way to prove the other swordswoman wrong after all...
Erza ran at her and Ikaruga continued to look smug as she prepared to counter whatever she was going to do. The redhead requipped a great sword before her boots changed, becoming that of her Flight Armor, which increased her speed.
"Yasha Sen-!'' Ikaruga froze as Erza suddenly disappeared. The next thing she knew, Erza jumped out from behind a wall, her sword glowing a dark violet as she struck with all the power she could muster. Ikaruga tried to defend but the sword let out a powerful burst of energy that almost threw her down. Erza unleashed another slash that made the latter gasp as a cut formed on her shoulder.
"For your information, Riku taught me that maneuver.'' Erza said coldly. The sword imbued with darkness magic had been a gift from Freed on her last birthday and she made the most of it. ''If I were you, I wouldn't go running my mouth about things I don't understand.''
"That was pretty neat!'' Natsu praised, she gave a nod of thanks.
He stepped up ''You've gotta go-'' Erza blinked. ''-you're setting out after to deal with Jellal too. It's your chance to settle things. I caught his scent back before she showed up, he's really close by.''
The girl's eyes narrowed at this ''...Are you certain?''
"Totally. I've gotta finish this, I'll catch up. Promise.''
Ikaruga raised an eye as Erza left, glancing back at her remaining opponent ''Are you sure that's wise? You would have been better off if she remained.''
"Heck, yeah! If you think this'll finish me off, you got another thing coming, lady!''
The pod stopped glowing, to Belle's surprise. She soon saw why as Riku woke up, blinking blearily at his surroundings. It opened and he stepped out, almost stumbling a moment later. Belle flew up to steady him, helping him lean against a wall. Dizzy, Riku shook his head, blinking a few times before registering her hugging him.
Belle felt his arms around her before noticing that he was shaking a little. Her eyes watered but she reminded herself to be strong. She still remembered Erik's approach from earlier. Since she wasn't sure how much he recalled, she decided to remind him of what their friend said. ''Everyone's all right. Those were just awful nightmares, just a whole lot of lies. Our family and Magnolia are safe too.''
Relief flashed in his eyes for a moment, but then he looked confused 'Oh, didn't Erik say...?'
Belle nodded ''We came to get you back and to stop Jellal.'' She proceeded to explain more of what happened on their end before giving him the lacrimas. Riku took a moment to eat the magic stored within them once she finished, his head lowering.
He vaguely remembered seeing his friends a while ago but the memory was mostly a blur. But those illusions...those nightmares felt so real. He remembered them so clearly. From what happened to his birth family, seeing himself control of the curse and it just kept getting worse from the worse.
Riku didn't remember the last time he had felt so terrified. It was like he was losing his mind. He'd felt the curse react to his distressed state and it had taken everything in him to fight it off with the help of the seal. Riku wasn't quite sure how he pulled it off but he would always be thankful that he managed it. Because at that moment, he knew something was horribly wrong. It felt like everything was about to disappear...that...if he had let go even for an instant, it would've been the end.
The worst part was, he wasn't sure where that certainty came from but it felt right. Riku had fought tooth and nail to hang on, telling himself over and over that the illusions were lies. It was the only thing he could do. At the moment though, all he could register was the sheer relief. The relief that was right to keep holding on to faith and it felt like such a weight off his shoulders.
He breathed in and out a few times, remaining in place. Belle gave him a worried look but she figured he might need to absorb all this, so she remained in his hold, giving what comfort she could.
Riku stood after a few minutes. His expression was determined as anger flashed in his eyes, leading Belle to ask ''You're going after Jellal, aren't you?''
He nodded 'I've got to help them. 'I won't...I won't turn away. I need to do this.'
"...A part of me wants to stop you from going anywhere near that monster but another part thinks we should fight him together.'' Belle admitted after a moment. ''In other words, I'm going and you're not stopping me.''
Riku wanted to argue but he knew that the only way he'd stop Belle from going was if he didn't go himself. Besides, Riku thought facing Jellal might actually help deal with the consequences of the illusions.
'Right then, what're we waiting for?'
Erik realized why Ainsley's eye magic were something he couldn't track with Sound magic. Ainsley didn't even think about controlling them-he simply willed the power forth and let them loose. All he was able to learn from his sound magic was that it was called Demon's Eye. But consecutive use of the ability seemed to wear him down more than the Terrain Effect magic. The man was a much better long range fighter and they both knew it.
Ainsley shifted the areas again, creating an area with searing hot winds, Erik used Poison Dragon's Guard. A large shield of poison defended him with ease. The dragon slayer waved a hand and the shield turned into a number of spheres which rained on the enemy, forcing him to dodge.
Ainsley panted ''You just keep getting up over and over...why don't you just die?!''
Erik snorted, his lips twitching as a newly awakened Cubelios joined him. ''The thing about Fairy Tail? We're the worst at giving up!''
Cubelios flew to strike the man repeatedly, he tried to push her away but she was fast despite her size and he was really getting tired.
A big magic circle manifested around him ''Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Poison Dragon's Chaos Venin!''
A swirling wave of poison appeared around Erik and he proceeded to knee his enemy in the gut, leaving him wheezing. Erik struck a few times and everytime he moved, a number of poison blasts flew from it. The wave grew in size and Ainsley tried to guard with his shadows but the quantity soon overwhelmed him. In moments, he was sent crashing into a wall, forming a small crater.
Erik allowed himself a smirk, knowing they had won.
"You're going to pay for making fun of our friend!''
Ikaruga braced herself as she saw Natsu gather a lot of fire. She was all set to slice it when he surprised her by throwing it around them. The result was three rings of fierce flames close to each other which trapped them in the middle.
"Oh, is that all? Did you forget what happened before?'' Ikaruga proceeded to slice the flames near her, only to be surprised when it hardly did anything as there was more fire right there.
Natsu grinned fiercely, he knew she could slice it but that didn't matter. The whole point was making the fire so big that she'd have trouble dealing with it all at once. She may be having trouble but he was right in his element, and he was going to take full advantage of that.
Using some of the present fire to boost himself, Natsu attacked with a Fire Dragon's Claw. Ikaruga scowled, unleashing a Yasha Senku in retaliation. She couldn't use Garuda Flame as Natsu would just take advantage of the technique due to its fire atttribute, as he had proven earlier. The two continued to exchange blows, both causing some damage here and there but neither backing down.
While Natsu was in his element, Ikaruga was finding it increasingly hard to fight as she normally would in this situation. It was really hot and breathing was getting increasingly difficult and Natsu's fierce onslaught continued.
He proceeded to unleash a number of attacks, the Iron Fist, Wing Attack and Crushing Fang with little pause. Ikaruga kept up her guard all along but she was wearing down and they both knew it. She gathered her strength and sliced Natsu's oncoming Brilliant Flame, cutting his chest. But Natsu persevered despite the pain, inhaling deeply.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!''
Having little choice, Ikaruga tried to fend for herself with Garuda Flame but it was of little use. The torrent of fire, boosted by Natsu's flame rings, soon proved to be too much and she was defeated.
Natsu panted a little, grinning at his success. He wasn't done yet, no way. It was time he follow up on his promise.
Around the same time...
Erza's eyes narrowed as she came face to face with Jellal, wearing that same insufferable smirk she was more and more famiiar with now.
"Well, well, you made it after all.'' He got off his chair. ''Did you enjoy the game?''
"Game?'' Erza hissed. ''You think all of this is a game?!''
Jellal remained unfazed ''Of course. It's nothing but a prelude to my master plan. I'm finally going to attain ultimate freedom.''
Erza growled ''You're out of your mind. This is where it ends for you.''
"Ho? Looks like you've gotten a spine-let's see if you can prove those words.'' He taunted.
As the two prepared to square off, Natsu, Simon, Riku, Belle, Erik and Cubelios hurried to the scene, hoping they weren't too late.
Well, let's stop here.
I hope it was good. I wanted to get those fights done with first because I intend on having the battle Jellal stand alone. I skipped some parts because they were hardly any different than canon but the next chapter's going to focus more on Erza and Riku's roles in the coming battle. Before I forget-if Ainsley seems a bit lacking for to a guild master, it's because he took the position recently after his predecessor died and he hardly had time to get stronger before their guild was arrested. Erik's magic wasn't quite as effective because Ainsley figured out that Erik could read his moves so he purposefully overpowered the spells to make sure he wouldn't be as predictable.
To clear things up, the guy in the flashback is Brain. Erik just doesn't know his name. Riku found Erik and Cubelios before Brain got to them but that also wound up bringing him to Brain's attention. He discovered Riku's power as a dragon slayer so he decided to find out what would happen if he infused light magic with it. And this is the thing that kicked off the Curse. They didn't actually know what it was-just assuming it to be a side effect of the experiment. Until it happened again in Magnolia a couple of years later and Makarov told Riku and Erza the gist of what he knew.
Riku normally wouldn't be ready to fight after that torture, those nightmares are still heavy on his mind. But he's motivated by anger and the desire to help his friends in equal measure and he's chosen to focus on those for the time being. Jellal played on his absolute worst fears and the whole scheme is not something you get over so easily. I'll be dealing with his recovery after the battle. Oh and I honestly can't remember if I did mention this before but Riku pulled through that torture on sheer willpower and it's a damn good thing he did. There's a very good reason behind his misgivings (even if he isn't quite aware of it). Bottom line is, if he had lost control in that situation-things would've been beyond awful for everyone.