Sorry for the wait my readers, I'm back with the sixth chapter of "Advent of the Stray"! I know I'm taking a long time with my updates, and I'm sorry about that, but I have my reasons. The main reason is real life getting in the way, which leaves little room to focus on my writing. The other reason is that it takes time to write a chapter. Without an idea, one can't hope to write a good chapter that the readers would enjoy, as I'm sure other fanfic authors can agree on. Unfortunately, I've been experiencing a bit of writer's block recently and all ideas I came up with are almost immediately dismissed.
Chances are, if I still can't come up with something, I'll have to skip the next fanfic in my update list. I feel as if I should let you know that this might happen. While I'm doing my best to follow my update list, it makes it difficult to update chapters in a timely manner. Therefore, I decided to let you all know ahead of time that I might skip an update if I end up drawing a blank. As much as I know that this will most likely irritate those who were looking forward to a specific update, I feel this will will at least ensure I have a chapter updated and not ghosting my precious readers.
I also want to point out that this is only a last resort if I'm unable to update the next chapter on the list on my profile. I just want to let you all know this and hope that you understand. It greatly pains me that I'm taking so long updating, but there's not much I can do about it. For that I would like to express my deepest gratitude to those of you who has continued to patiently await my chapters. I would also like to apologize for the long wait when I'm trying to update my chapters as fast as I can.
With that being said, I won't keep any longer, on with the chapter!
Chapter Six: Plants of Death
Team Natsu continued on their pursuit of the Eisenwald guild in the magic mobile Erza was currently driving. Despite the protest of Gray, she continued to fuel the magic mobile with her magic power, gradually weakening herself. Inside the vehicle, Natsu and Kren were trying their best to fight their motion sickness to no avail. Normal transportation was enough to make the two dragon slayers hurl, adding Erza's reckless driving only made it worse.
Kren held onto Han in search of comfort as he suffered from never-ending nausea. The water dragon slayer deeply wished he knew a spell to cure his motion sickness. It was when he fought Kageyama that he realized he's useless in a fight while on a vehicle. He remembered all the medication he took back on Earth and how they did little to nothing. Never before had he wished he didn't have a stomach to make him sick.
'Aquacia, please tell me you taught me a spell for motion sickness.' Kren weakly thought, leaning his head back in his seat. He placed a hand over his mouth and swallowed down the bile building up in his throat. 'If you did, I hope I remember it soon.'
"Poor Kren." Han patted his owner's lap sympathetically at his sorry state. He remembered all the times Kren got sick during car rides back on Earth. "Must be rough when on the move."
"Aye, this always happens with Natsu." Happy said, raising a paw and looking at Natsu who had his face buried in the cushioned seat of the magic mobile.
"Kinda glad I'm not a dragon slayer." Lucy sweatdropped, looking between the two dragon slayers. "I don't think I can handle what they're going through."
"Aye!" Happy raised a paw in agreement before placing it over his mouth to stifle a laugh. "Maybe you'll be even slimier than when you were on the train."
"I told you before, that was sweat!" Lucy shouted, holding up fist while restraining herself from striking the blue feline. She crossed her arms and turned her head away from Happy with a huff. "What I meant was I probably wouldn't handle the nausea they're going through."
"I'm honestly surprised they haven't tried jumping out the window by now." Han pointed out, surveying the severity of the nausea the two dragon slayers were experiencing.
"We have arrived at Kunugi Station." Erza announced, cutting off their conversation as she slowed the magic mobile to a stop at the edge of a cliff that overlooked the train station in the valley below. "Looks like we just missed them."
"I can understand cars and boats," Lucy said, poking her head out the window to get a better look of what's happening. "But why'd they wanna hijack a train?"
"It doesn't really seem like it'd be a very good choice for getaways since it can only follow the tracks it's on." Happy pointed out in one breath.
"Yes, that's true." Erza nodded in agreement to Happy's statement. "But they are quite fast."
"Then I guess it's up to us to figure out where those Eisenwald guys are going in such a big hurry and why." Gray muttered, in nothing but his underwear and seemingly unaware of it.
"You're naked Gray!" Lucy exclaimed, just now realizing the ice wizard's state of undress.
"Am I?" Gray asked, looking down at himself.
"You really need to do something about that habit." Han sweatdropped, handing the ice wizard his clothes. He then peeked out the window to see a few soldiers stationed as guards. "Looks like the military is doing damage control down there."
"You're right, Han." Lucy said, peering out of the window to see down the valley. She had a look over at the damage of the station below. "So it should be a matter of time before someone catches them."
"I hope that's the case, Lucy." Erza said solemnly, starting up the magic mobile and immediately began driving further down the valley.
"They must have a specific location in mind and need the train as camouflage." Kren croaked out, his throat burning from the bile rising up it. He wanted to tell them Eisenwald's plan, but he can't without arousing suspicion to himself. "Not to mention they need a means to transport all their members."
"That's true, a good observation, Kren." Erza made a sharp left turn to avoid a large rock formation in their path, making Kren and Natsu even more nauseous. "The people at the station probably won't receive word of the hijacking until it's too late."
"I'm starting to get worried." Lucy said, holding a hand up to her chest with a concerned look on her face. "What if we don't stop them in time?"
"All the more reason to hurry." Erza replied determinedly, tightly clutching the control lever for the magic mobile. "We must do everything we can to prevent Lullaby's song from playing."
'I just gotta make sure I stay outside the station when we arrive.' Kren thought, holding his stomach as it felt like it was doing thousands of backflips. He moved to lay down when another wave of nausea hit him. 'Can't afford to be trapped in Erigor's wind barrier.'
"Is Erza going to be okay?" Han asked worriedly, watching as Erza's magic continued to be siphoned to power the vehicle they're riding. "Maybe one of us should switch with her."
"I'll be fine." Erza asserted, her eyes narrowing in concentration when she caught sight of Oshibana town. "We're almost there, brace yourselves!"
"What did she mean by th-AAAAH!" Lucy began to ask only to let out a startled yell when the magic mobile suddenly picked up speed.
"Please, no more." Kren pleaded, hands over his mouth and his body curled up into a ball. He tried to take a deep breath, only for the wave of nausea to intensify when Erza made a sharp turn. "Get me off this thing!"
"Hang in there, Kren." Han softly said, rubbing the water dragon slayer's back to help relieve the nausea. "We're almost there, puke on Lucy if you can't hold it."
"Why me?!" Lucy shouted, feeling both angered and disgusted at what Han just suggested. "What did I ever do to you?!"
"I didn't forget that stupid feline comment." Han replied, giving the celestial wizard a half-lidded stare. "Despite it being directed at Happy, I still took offense."
"That reminds me, there was something important I was supposed to tell you, Lucy." Happy added, his eyes closed and arms crossed in thought.
"Oh really?" Lucy asked, glad for the change of subject, looking curiously down at the blue feline. "Well, what was it?"
"I don't remember, it was just something about something I was supposed to tell you." Happy furrowed his brows in deep concentration. "Your…"
'I can't take much more of this!' Kren moaned as he uncurled himself to sit properly in his seat, ignoring Lucy and Happy's conversation. He removed his hand from his mouth and proceeded to empty his stomach's contents out the window.
"Whoa, barf city!" Happy exclaimed, breaking out of his thoughts as he stared at the puking dragon slayer.
"There, there, let it all out." Han soothed, rubbing circles on Kren's back as the dragon slayer continued to puke his guts out.
"Poor guy." Lucy said sympathetically, a little grossed out but also relieved the dragon slayer didn't puked on her.
Erza eventually caught sight of Oshibana station as well as the smoke rising from the building and the crowd that gathered. She drifted the magic mobile to a stop, much to the relief of the two dragon slayers. Lucy helped Natsu out of the vehicle while Kren staggered out and Gray jumped off the roof. Kren took a few steps and was about to fall until Han brought out his wings and held him up by the collar of his shirt.
Han slowly lowered Kren so he was sitting with his legs crossed and hands gripping his ankles. The two watched as Erza questioned the station staff only to headbutt them when they didn't answer fast enough. Kren would have found this funny if he wasn't still recovering from what he would forever dub as Erza's reckless driving. In truth, all forms of transportation bring the dragon slayer to the state he's in.
"You okay, Kren?" Han asked, hovering next to the dragon slayer and giving him a look of concern.
"I just need to rest for a bit." Kren replied, taking deep breaths and fighting the urge to vomit from the taste of bile still in his mouth.
"The Eisenwald guild's inside." Erza said, finally getting information out of the now unconscious station staff. "Let's go!"
"Right." Gray nodded, feeling someone tapping his leg and looked down. He saw Han holding up his clothes that he stripped. "Oh, thanks."
"So I gotta drag this one around?" Lucy asked, gesturing to Natsu that she had his arm around her shoulder for support.
"Kren and I'll stay out here." Han said, landing on the said dragon slayer's head and willing his wings to vanish. "Kren needs to rest and we'll catch anyone that tries to get away."
"Very well." Erza nodded in agreement before running into the station followed by Gray, Lucy, Natsu, and Happy. "Just be careful!"
"Yes ma'am!" Han gave the requip wizard a salute and watched the group disappear into the building. Once they were out of sight, Han turned his attention to Kren. "So, how do you want to do this?"
"First things first." Kren slowly got to his feet, feeling slightly better after resting for a bit and looked at the gathering crowd. "We should evacuate all these people."
"You're right." Han nodded in agreement, taking notice that there were more people than before. "If a fight does break out, they need to be away from here." He looked up at the dragon slayer, tilting his head curiously. "But how will we get them to leave?"
"Leave that to me." Kren walked towards the crowd, gaining their attention before raising his arm to reveal his guild mark. "Everyone, I'm with the Fairy Tail guild, may I please have your attention!"
"What are you doing kid?" A station staff member, one of the remaining conscious ones, asked as the crowd began to murmur amongst themselves.
"You must evacuate this town immediately!" Kren continued, ignoring the staff members behind him. "We have reason to believe a dark guild has taken over the station!" The murmurs got worse as the crowd gained worried looks. "They intend to use dark magic to kill everyone in the vicinity!" At that revelation, the worry was replaced by shock and fear as Kren lowered his arm. "I beg of you, spread the word and get as far away as you can!"
They didn't need to be told twice for the crowd quickly dispersed and screams could be heard. Mothers grabbing their children, holding them tightly as they ran. Men guiding their loved ones away from the station. Young helping the elderly when they were dragging behind. Kren watched all this happen and hoped that they got as far away from the station as possible. Not because of Lullaby, but in case he needed to fight and he didn't want to involve civilians if it came down to it.
"What were you thinking?!" The staff member demanded, placing a hand on Kren's shoulder as his fellow staff members regained consciousness. "You just sent them into a state of panic!"
"It's better they panic and get away." Kren calmly replied, removing the staff member's hand and turning to face him. "I'm not gonna let anyone die here." The staff member looked like he wanted to argue, but relented when he saw Kren had a point. "I suggest you and everyone else evacuate as well."
"What about you?" The staff member asked.
"I'll be fine." Kren said reassuringly, showing his guild mark once again. "I'm a Fairy Tail wizard, we've got this." He then looked down at Han as he lowered his arm. "Can you make sure everyone is safe Han?"
"Leave it to me." Han nodded, placing a paw to his chest as he brought out his wings and took to the air. He looked at the station staff and gestured to them to follow him before he took off.
The staff members were reluctant to leave, having seen Kren was so young and risking his life for their people. But they also knew they wouldn't stand a chance against a magical guild for they were regular people. They heard of Fairy Tail and the reputation they had, so they knew that the dragon slayer must be strong. It didn't ease their worry, however, but they still followed Han as he guided them away from the station.
Kren watched on for a moment before turning his attention back to the station. He suspected that the battle had most likely begun, he just needed to wait for Erigor now. The dragon slayer needs to stop the wind wizard before he could put up his wind barrier. From what he could remember, wind magic is one of the most troublesome magic to fight against. This is especially true for Kren, who is a water dragon slayer.
'I might be at a disadvantage.' Kren clenched his hands into fists as he eyed every corner of the station for signs of Erigor. There was no telling where the reaper could be, so he wouldn't let his guard down. 'But I need to destroy Lullaby here and now.'
"My, my, what a serious look on your face."
Kren quickly turned towards the sultry voice and heard the clicking of footsteps from a nearby alleyway. The dragon slayer tensed, a bead of sweat trailing down the side of his face. Time seemed to move in slow motion with the seconds feeling like hours. He caught sight of a silhouette figure forming with each step heard until the light from the sun revealed who they were.
"I wonder what face you'd make while writhing in agony."
Out of the alleyway came a slim young woman of average height and an ample bust. She has dark eyes and long, straight, glossy green hair, reaching down to her lower back. Her hair is also tied into a pair of rose-shaped buns at both sides of her head. She wore a red strapless dress with petal-like edges on the hem. She also wore a pair of green arm sleeves and long boots that reached to her calves, also adorned with petal-like edges.
"I look forward to finding out." The woman said once she was out of the alleyway, placing a hand on her cheek and resting the other on her hip.
"Who are you?" Kren demanded, immediately taking a defensive stance at the mysterious woman.
"Cute appearance, but lacking in manners." The woman mused, letting out a small chuckle as she trailed a finger down her face. "That's good, that means I get to teach you some."
"I said who are you?" Kren repeated his question, preparing to use his magic if he felt a fight was going to happen.
"My, my, I guess I have no choice." The woman gave a mocking sigh before smirking at Kren and pulled out a rose from thin air. "My name is Botanica, a member of Eisenwald, a pleasure my new toy."
"Toy?" Kren questioned, not liking what the woman was implying with the term of phrase.
"I heard from a certain reaper that a few flies were buzzing around." Botanica tossed the rose aside, licking her lips seductively as she stared at Kren with predatory eyes. "So I have the pleasure of dealing with you."
Kren felt a shiver go up his spine at the way the woman was staring at him and suddenly felt cold. There was something about the way she was looking at him, something that rubbed him the wrong way. It was like he was staring into the eyes of a merciless predator, just waiting for the chance to pounce.
"Now then, let's play." Botanica lightly tapped the ground twice with her foot and a green magic circle formed under her.
"I don't normally hit girls." Kren muttered, a magic circle forming under him as well. "But I guess I'll make an exception this time, Water Dragon Talon!" Kren swung his leg, creating blades of water that flew towards Botanica. 'Let's test the waters before anything else.'
Botanica just smiled as the blades of water approached her, not the least bit worried. Just as the blades were about to hit their mark, a large bulb burst out of the ground in front of her. Kren gasped in shock as the bulb opened to reveal a lotus flower. The blades of water struck the flower, only to seemingly slide off it and past Botanica, slicing the corner of a building behind her.
"Oh dear." Botanica looked behind her and watched the piece of the building slide off and fell to the ground. "It would appear my new toy has some dangerous tricks." She brought a hand to her mouth and giggled before turning to face Kren. "Good thing I defended myself."
"I'm just getting started." Kren took a deep breath and positioned his hands in front of him like a trumpeter. "Water Dragon Roar!" He blew into his hands as a magic circle formed before a vortex of water was released. 'Let's see you stop this.'
"It's cute how you persist." Botanica snapped her fingers before a vine with a single flower burst from the ground.
The flower got in front of Botanica and began to do something Kren couldn't believe. With relative ease, the flower was absorbing the dragon slayer's breath attack. It showed no sign of stopping as more vines and flowers began to grow from the ground. The vines not absorbing water then moved towards Kren, who stopped the breath attack to jump out of the way. The vines were relentless in their attack as Kren dodged each and every vine that came near him.
"You can't run forever~" Botanica said singingly, taking a seat within the lotus flower as she watched Kren struggling to escape her vines. "No toy of mine has ever gotten away from me."
"Again with that toy comment." Kren muttered, feeling uncomfortable with his opponent with every second that passed. He backflips away from another set of vines before one wraps itself around his right wrist. "Damn!"
"Got you~" Botanic snapped her fingers again and a giant pitcher plant burst out of the ground behind her.
The vine lifted Kren into the air and held him over the pitcher plant as it opened the leaf on top. Kren grew nervous when he saw purple bubbling liquid inside of the plant. The dragon slayer remembered reading about pitcher plants and how they digested their prey using enzymes. The fact the plant digests their prey alive was not something he wanted to know. If this plant has any relation to that pitcher plant, it wouldn't end well for Kren if he falls in.
"Now then, let me hear your screams." Botanica said softly as the vines slowly lowered Kren towards the bubbling liquid. "Will they be screams of pain, of despair, a bit of both?" She moaned, her body twitching erratically as she held herself and a deep red blush on her cheeks. "Just thinking about it makes me really hot and twitchy all over~"
"Sorry, but I have no plans to find out!" Kren tightly gripped the vine with his right hand and used his left to rip it off his wrist. He then swung to the side of the pitcher plant and kicked it, causing it to tip over and fall.
The petals of the lotus flower closed up around Botanica as the purple liquid spilled out of the pitcher plant. The moment the liquid hit the ground, it started to melt away the bricked surface as Kren landed a few feet away. Kren cringed as he watched how quickly the bricked ground was dissolving. It was at that moment the dragon slayer was glad he evacuated the townspeople earlier. He didn't want to think about the number of casualties if he didn't.
Kren looked towards Botanica to see that the lotus petals were singed black from the liquid. The petals slowly opened and crumbled to ashes, revealing an unscathed Botanica. She stepped out of what was left of the lotus flower and surveyed the damage around her. The vines that absorbed Kren's breath attack were also victims as they wilted away and dissolved in the purple liquid.
"My, my." Botanica brought out another rose before tossing it, embedding itself into the ground. "You've been a naughty toy." A magic circle formed around the rose while Botanica smirked. "And naughty toys need to be punished."
"I'm not scared of your plants." Kren stated, water covering his fingers and shaping into spiraling claws. "Whatever you throw at me, I'll tear it to shreds."
"Such bravado." Botanica chuckled which slowly rose into laughter before she smirked at Kren. "Rejoice, for you get a punishment I save for my favorite toys."
Before Kren could question the woman about what she meant, the rose she threw into the ground began to grow in size. The rose began to multiply into eight and tangle themselves until they formed a monstrous humanoid shape. The plant had seven vines wriggling over its muscular body. In place of fingers were roses with green spikes protruding the center. Kren grew nervous as the humanoid plant was now towering over him.
A large rose bud grew out of where the head would be and slowly began to bloom. Once fully bloomed, a mouth was in the center and opened. Inside the mouth were numerous sets of jagged teeth. The humanoid plant let out a powerful roar, spraying droplets of what Kren guessed was saliva. When the "saliva" touched the ground, Kren took a step back when he saw the ground starting to steam.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Kren turned his attention away from the sizzling ground to Botanica to see she was smirking. "I call this darling Rose Carnage." She looked up at the rose monster that hadn't moved from its spot. "I always get the best entertainment from my toys when I use this spell."
"You have a twisted understanding of entertainment." Kren retorted, his eyes drifting to the plant monster for a moment. He pushed down any anxiety he had before taking a bold step forward. "What do you have to gain from using Lullaby?"
"Oh, so you know about Lullaby." Botanica mused, a look of mild surprise on her face before it was replaced by amusement. "I think you already know."
"Then you should know you'll die too." Kren narrowed his eyes as he flexed his fingers till the tips of his water claws were touching. "What's driving you to kill innocent people?"
"What's driving me, you say?" Botanica turned to the side, pressing a finger against her chin and looked up in faux thought. "Oh, I don't know." She let out a low chuckle, giving Kren a gleeful side glance. "I just want to witness the people slowly having the life sucked out of them."
Botanica snapped her fingers and Rose Carnage let out an ear splitting roar before the vines behind it shot into the air. Kren looked up at the vines as they arched downwards and shot toward him at blinding speeds. The dragon slayer narrowed his eyes in concentration as the rose vines got closer. Digging his heels into the ground, Kren shot forward just as the rose vines slammed into the ground he once stood. He heard a low rumbling sound coming from beneath him and jumped to the side just as numerous thorns burst through the ground.
The rose monster held out its right hand and the roses on its fingertips began to spew out a purple liquid. Having a good idea what the liquid was, Kren jumped over the stream of deadly liquid. He landed on a vine and began to run along it towards the rose monster as it let out another roar. Before he knew it, a rose slammed into Kren, knocking him off the vine and through the wall of a nearby house. The rose monster's seven vines then slammed themselves into the house, completely collapsing it.
The vines retracted themselves to surround the rose monster as it waited for any signs of movement. A large piece of the collapsed house flipped itself and revealed Kren was underneath it. The dragon slayer was covered in scratches and debris as he got to his feet. The rose monster released more acidic liquid towards Kren who rolled to the side to dodge. The dragon slayer then charged towards Botanica, only to be intercepted by the rose vines.
'Damn!' Kren gritted his teeth, back flipping away from the vines when spikes came out of the center of the roses. He eyed the rose monster warily, unsure of what his next move should be. 'I can't get close to her with that thing in the way.'
"What's the matter?" Botanica asked, waving an arm to the side before a throne of vines formed behind her. She took a seat on the throne, crossing one leg over the other and resting her cheek in her right hand. "Having a bit of difficulty against my Rose Carnage?"
"I'm just getting warmed up." Kren replied, dusting himself off before recreating his water claws in his right hand. He then charged towards the rose monster once again just as a rose vine appeared in front of him. "Water Dragon Crushing Fang!"
The dragon slayer swiped his claws, creating five blades of water that resembled fangs that pierced through the rose. The vine limply fell to the ground and wither away before Kren continued his charge. He jumped over another vine and severed the rose which yielded the same result as the previous attempt. Botanica frowned seeing this as she watched Kren destroy one rose vine after another until only one remained.
Kren took note that the rose monster seemed to lose a number of vines from its body with each rose he destroyed. He then remembered how the beast was created by combining eight rose vines. The dragon slayer turned his attention to the rose monster's head and began to wonder why it wasn't attacking like the rest of the rose vines. Before he could dwell on it much further, the rose monster slumped forward slightly before six new rose vines emerged from its back.
Kren's eyes widened at the sight of six new rose vines joining the seventh one in an attack from all directions. The dragon slayer jumped over the roses before severing them all from the vines they were connected to. This was in vain as seven new rose vines emerged from the rose monster. Botanica smirked when Kren gritted his teeth at the fact he was back to square one. The rose monster roared as it regained the vines lost in its body before spewing purple liquid from its fingertips.
"What is this thing, a hydra?" Kren muttered, his voice holding mild irritation about not making much progress in defeating the rose monster. "How do I beat it?"
"It's pointless." Botanica stated, getting Kren's attention as she pulled out another rose to smell its fragrance. "To this day, no one has survived." She sighed blissfully, a faint blush on her cheeks. "Their screams of pain and despair were quite exquisite."
"Okay, I think I've had enough." Kren took a fews steps back as he eyed the rose monster and its seven roses. "Wait." He frowned as a sudden thought dawned on him. "Why are all of its attacks long range?"
The rose monster roared once again before releasing the acidic liquid from its fingertips. Kren jumped back, resulting in the liquid hitting the ground. Small droplets splattered against the dragon slayer's upper right arm and he cringed at the searing pain that shot up his arm. Kren held his arm as he took a few steps back from the rose monster. He glanced down at his arm and removed his hand to survey the damage.
The skin was burned away and steaming revealing the muscle underneath. Blood was oozing out of the wound and down his arm. Gritting his teeth to avoid screaming in pain, Kren ripped off his right sleeve and tore it into strips. He then wrapped the makeshift gauze around his arm, ignoring the pain. Once the dragon slayer finished bandaging his wound, Kren glared at the rose monster.
His eyes drifted to the station, wondering if the others ran into any problems inside that he wasn't aware of. Like with Kal Clum, Kren knew nothing about Botanica, which had him a little worried. He knew his appearance would change this world, but he didn't expect one of those changes being the existence of new people. If new people now existed, what other changes happened after his appearance?
Kren couldn't dwell on the thought for long when the rose monster attacked with its vines again. The dragon slayer dodged the vines before he started to run around the rose monster. The rose monster followed Kren's movement as the rose vine chased after him. Kren smirked when he noticed the rose vines behind him and continued to run circles around the rose monster. The rose monster looked down and saw the vines wrapped around itself.
Kren made a sudden sharp turn towards the rose monster and used the momentum to jump up high. Before Kren could do anything else, he noticed something shimmering within the rose monster's mouth. He couldn't get a good look as a rose vine whipped into his midsection and slammed him into the ground. The vines unwrapped themselves from itself as Kren struggled to get to his feet.
"You're persistent, I'll give you that." Botanica said, her vine throne moving to climb up the rose monster's body. "But persistence can only get you so far." The throne perched itself on the rose monster's shoulder before she chuckled. "Not that I'm complaining, I get to enjoy watching you get beaten to the ground."
"It's worth it since I figured out it's weakness." Kren retorted, smirking confidently as he dusted himself off.
"Weakness?" Botanica gave Kren a bewildered look before letting out a hysterical laugh. "A weakness he says!" She continued to laugh before letting out a sigh. "I hate to break it to you, but my rose carnage has no weaknesses."
"It does, and I'll prove it with my next attack!" Kren asserted, charging towards Botanica and her rose monster.
"Then let's see it!" Botanica waved the rose she was holding before the rose monster unleashed its rose vines again.
'Now!' Kren jumped onto one of the vines before running up the vine again. He dodged the roses that attempted to knock him off. 'Only got one shot at this!' Kren jumped high over the rose monster before taking a deep breath. "Water Dragon Roar!"
The dragon slayer released his breath attack, causing Botanica to gasp and jump off her creation's shoulder. The vortex of water pierced through the rose monster's head and the buildings behind it. The vines that made up the monster's body began to unravel and wither away. Kren landed to the ground but stumbled slightly as he watched the rose monster withered.
"I knew it." Kren let out a relieved sigh upon seeing the rose monster finally defeated. "It was the head after all."
"What gave it away?" The dragon slayer turned his attention to Botanica, who looked less than pleased.
"It was the number of roses that attacked me." Kren gripped his bandaged arm, hissing when pain shot up. "Only seven out of eight were attacking while the eighth remained as the head."
"Your point?" Botanica irritably asked.
"Why would it need a head if all eight roses could've attacked?" Kren looked over to the withered pile of vines and roses. "That's when it hit me." He returned his attention to Botanica. "The head is the one controlling the remaining seven, hence why it didn't attack."
"That's all?" Botanica gave Kren a look that said she didn't believe it was all that.
"There's one more thing." Kren walked over to what was left of the rose monster, reaching down and picked up a cracked crystal orb the size of his hand. "I couldn't help but notice this inside the head's mouth." He brought the orb to inspect it through the sunlight. "I'm guessing you used this lacrima to maintain your rose carnage."
"You're an observant one." Botanica commented dryly, tossing the rose she was holding aside before vines burst out of the ground behind her. "No matter, you won't be getting out of this battle alive."
"That's what you think." Kren moved to charge when the vines lunged towards him. He dodged and weaved as he got closer before a vine grazed his cheek. 'If only Natsu was here.'
"You can't dodge forever~" Botanica chuckled as her vines continued to whip at Kren.
"Water Dragon Talon!" Kren swung his leg, creating blades of water slicing through the vines.
Not wasting the chance, Kren closed the distance between him and Botanica, much to her surprise. The dragon slayer delivered a punch into her abdomen, knocking the air out of Botanica and sending her flying. The moment Botanica hit the ground, the vines withered and crumbled.
"How dare you…" Botanica pushed herself up and got to her feet, clutching her abdomen as she glared at Kren. "You dare lay your hands on a lady?"
"Normally, I don't." Kren sighed, narrowing his eyes in determination as he got into a fighting stance. "But if you do something that'll endanger people, then it doesn't matter if you're a man or woman." He took a deep breath as a magic circle formed beneath him. "I'll stop you with everything I've got."
"Oh, so you're one of those types." Botanica mused, holding out her hand as a lotus flower burst out of the ground. The petals opened to reveal a sword with a rose-shaped guard which she took. "Then I guess playtime's over for me."
"It was never playtime to begin with." Kren retorted, feeling slightly nervous at the sudden appearance of the sword.
The two stared each other down, neither side willing to make the first move or break their stare down. Kren contemplated how to get the sword away from Botanica, but he knew that the woman had more experience than him. There's also the fact that he didn't have a weapon and all of his attacks were mid to long range. He didn't have any experience in hand to hand combat, even after he arrived in Fiore. The only reason he fought well since arriving is mostly because of instinct.
Botanica lined up her sword before lunging towards Kren who sidestepped to avoid being stabbed. He grabbed the woman's wrist and attempted to make her drop the sword only for a large thorn burst from the ground, making the dragon slayer jump back. Botanica swung her sword, causing thorns to shoot out of the guard. Kren's eyes widened in shock before creating a wall of water. The thorns hit the water wall, which slowed them to a stop before they fell to the ground.
"Water Dragon Wing Attack!" Kren waved his arms, creating whips of water.
"That won't work on me!" Botanica snapped her fingers before a vine with a large elephant-shaped leaf burst from the ground. The leaf went in front of her and blocked the water whips. "Don't you know water makes plants stronger?"
"I know that." Kren smirked as he continued to attack the leaf with his water whips. "But there's only so much a plant can take."
Botanica just laughed as each attack was blocked by her leaf shield with no sign of Kren relenting. She then felt something wet on her cheek and reached to feel what it was. When she pulled her hand back, she was surprised to see water on her fingertips. She looked at her leaf shield to see that it had a few tears along the edges. Her eyes widened when the leaf was blown to pieces before being blasted by whips of water.
Kren dispersed the water whips and leaped towards Botanica and kicked her into the ground. He reached for the sword, only for Botanica to retaliate by slashing his right arm. Kren gritted his teeth and backed away, glancing down at his arm to see his makeshift bandage was torn off. He clutched his arm to staunch the bleeding. Botanica ran her tongue along the blade, licking up the blood that stained it.
'This is bad.' Kren thought as he saw blood flowing from between his fingers and down his arm. He applied pressure to his arm, ignoring the pain before turning his attention to Botanica. 'I need to finish this quickly.'
"You're starting to be a pest." Botanica said, pointing her sword again as she narrowed her eyes in irritation. "I have never met a toy that's given me as much trouble as you."
"First of all, I'm no toy." Kren frowned, gazing warily at the sword when the sunlight glinted off the blade. "Secondly, the only reason I'm being a pest is to stop you from killing anyone."
"That bravado is going to get you killed, kid." Botanica lunged towards Kren, thrusting her sword forward. "Like right now!"
"Not happening!" A magic circle formed underneath Kren as water engulfed his feet.
He swung his leg, creating a whip of water that swept Botanica's feet off the ground. When he saw Botanica drop her sword, Kren quickly moved to kick it away. Just as he was about to, a vine emerged from the pommel and launched itself into Botanica's hand. Kren backed away when she aimed a thrust to his neck. He grabbed her wrist and twisted to make her drop the sword. He then threw her over his shoulder.
Kren looked down at the sword and picked it up before stabbing it into the ground. He then kicked the hilt of the sword, snapping the blade in half. The blade dissolved and the hilt withered away. Kren caught a peculiar sweet scent before his eyes widened and jumped away from the withering sword handle. He began to see double and felt lightheaded before he fell to a knee and placed a hand over his nose and mouth.
"It's a lovely smell, isn't it?" Kren looked up to see Botanica had a smug smile on her face as she slowly approached him. "As you may have surmised, the fragrance from the hilt paralyzes whoever smells it."
"You don't say." Kren muttered, his voice muffled by his hand over his mouth to avoid breathing in more of the fragrance. 'It doesn't help that I have a higher sense of smell.'
"Now then, I believe I've played with you long enough." Botanica said, snapping her fingers before a pair of sunflowers burst from the ground. "Time to die, little toy."
"Unlike you, I have a reason to live." Kren struggled to get to his feet, staggering for a moment and glared at the woman. "So I can't die here."
"Famous last words." Botanica gave a low chuckle as the sunflowers started to glow brightly.
The sunflowers then shot several projectiles towards Kren and he rolled to the side. The dragon slayer was then blown away when the projectiles exploded upon impacting the ground. He rolled along the ground before his back hit the wall of a building and coughed up blood. His face contorted in pain as he got to a sitting position and leaned against the wall. He eyed the sunflowers as they repositioned themselves to aim and glowed. Despite his body feeling numb, Kren pushed himself to his feet.
The dragon slayer tried to use his magic, but the magic circle vanished soon after it formed. Kren gritted his teeth in his failure to use magic before jumping to the side when the sunflowers fired again. He continued to run to avoid the exploding projectiles as best his paralyzed body would allow. His body felt like it was made of lead and hard to move how he normally did. Kren tried to use his magic again, but was only capable of forming water claws.
'This'll have to do until the paralysis wears off.' Kren thought as he waited until the sunflowers finished their attack. He soon saw the sunflowers closing their petals and he nodded. 'Now!' He stopped running and raised his hand. "Water Dragon Crushing Fang!"
Kren swiped downwards, creating fang-shaped water blades and sliced through the air. The blades pierced through the petals of the sunflowers. The blades also sliced the stems into pieces and fell to the ground. Kren panted heavily as he watched the sunflowers crumble and withered like the previous plants he defeated. He attempted to take a step forward, but his legs refused to move an inch.
"Still paralyzed." Kren muttered irritably, mentally wondering when he could move freely again. 'If only I knew some healing spells.'
"I'm starting to see why the rest of the guild calls you Fairy Tail wizards flies." Botanica looked at her fallen plants before giving Kren a pout. "You're so pesty, I'm having no fun tormenting you."
"At least being pesty is better than being a murderer." Kren retorted, leaning back against a wall as he caught his breath. He glanced at his injured arm to see that it was still bleeding before returning his attention to glare at Botanica. "I still can't believe you find some sick enjoyment watching people die."
"Come now, you make it sound like we're monsters." Botanica waved off Kren's glare as she walked over to what was left of her sunflowers. "Everyone dies eventually, we're just speeding up the process." She then looked up with a nostalgic look on her face, a blush dusting her cheeks. "I won't deny watching them die brings me great pleasure, though."
"You're crazy." Kren spat out, ripping his left sleeve to make another makeshift bandage and wrapping his wounded arm. "I'm gonna make sure you're arrested."
"That's cute, you actually think you can beat me." Botanica chuckled, licking her lips as she watched the dragon slayer finish bandaging his arm. "At the rate we're going, you'll be dead before you defeat me."
"That's what you think." Kren made a fist with his right hand and opened a few times, glad that a bit of the paralysis is starting to wear off. He got into a fighting stance as a magic circle formed beneath him. "This time, I'm ready for your plants."
"Is that so?" Botanica snapped her fingers as a large number of plants burst out of the ground behind her. "In that case, let's see you handle them all at once."
Without another word, Kren charged towards Botanica and her army of plants, dodging any that attempted to stop him. His body felt lighter the more he moved, and his reaction time got better as well. It was at that moment the dragon knew the paralysis wore off and he can now move freely again. He bent under and flipped over every vine, every flower, that tried to restrain him. Whenever he got surrounded, Kren cut down the plants that got close with blades of water and continued towards Botanica.
Botanica started to sweat nervously at how effortlessly the dragon slayer was avoiding her plants. The way he moved his body was comparable to a serpent if she paid close attention to the dragon slayer's movements. Whenever he used his wing attack, Botanica got the image of a serpentine dragon flapping its wings destroying her plants. Gritting her teeth, she created more plants to finish what the previous plants failed. This was in vain as Kren destroyed them with his breath attack.
The dragon slayer grabbed a vine and used it to swing away from a venus flytrap plant before slicing it in half with his Water Dragon Talon. He then released the vine to avoid the sunflower plants' projectiles. He continued to destroy every plant that attacked him while ignoring the building exhaustion he was feeling. Out of all the battles he was in, this was the longest and toughest of them all.
'She has to be running out of magic energy soon.' Kren glanced over to Botanica to see she was starting to breathe hard as she made more plants. He destroyed another sunflower followed by a pitcher plant before backflipping away from another venus flytrap. 'Just a bit longer.'
"What's this, Botanica?" Botanica and I stopped what we were doing and looked up at the source of the voice. Floating up in the air was Erigor and he was grinning confidently down at them. "Are you having trouble with a single Fairy Tail fly?"
"Stay out of this Erigor." Botanica glared at the reaper, not the least intimidated from the floating man. "I thought you were supposed to be making your wind barrier."
As if her words were the trigger, a powerful gust of wind began to blow powerfully around them. Kren looked behind him to the station to see that it was surrounded by a gigantic tornado. Kren gritted his teeth in frustration that he couldn't stop Erigor from creating his wind barrier. He turned and released his breath attack towards the reaper. Erigor didn't look worried as Kren's breath attack was blown away by a sudden twister.
"That was pointless." Erigor chuckled, holding out Lullaby and waving it as if to mock the dragon slayer. "There's nothing you can do to stop us now."
"I won't let you kill the guild masters, Erigor!" Kren shouted, clenching his hands into fist as he thought about Makarov. 'I won't let him die, not after all he did for me!'
"How did you find out about our true motive?" Erigor frowned when he heard Kren's words before looking at Botanica with narrowed eyes. "Did you tell him, Botanica?"
"I didn't say a word." Botanica waved off the reaper's stare before shrugging as her plants began to move impatiently. "Not like it matters, he'll soon be food for my precious plants."
"See to it he does." Erigor nodded before turning his back to the woman and dragon slayer. "I'll go on ahead."
"No you don't!" Kren made to jump and attack the reaper, only for a group of sunflowers to fire their projectiles. He had no choice but to dodge the projectiles and watched as Erigor disappeared from sight. "Damn it!"
"Sorry, but I'm not done with you." Botanica said, giving the dragon slayer a fake apologetic smile.
"Then I'll deal with you first." Kren muttered, warily eyeing the plants that surrounded him.
The dragon slayer tensed as vines whipped towards him and he sliced them to pieces with water claws. He heard movement behind him and he rolled to the side to avoid being eaten by a venus flytrap. Wasting no time, Kren used his breath attack to plow through the plants in front of him. A bright flashed filled his vision and he looked up to see the sunflowers preparing to fire. Kren moved to avoid the coming projectiles only to be wrapped in vines.
He struggled to free himself only to be wrapped in more vines until he couldn't move at all. He looked up just as the sunflowers fired their exploding projectiles. He closed his eyes at the incoming projectiles but felt no pain. Instead, he heard the sounds of explosions and felt the ground shake from the impact. When Kren opened his eyes, he saw that the projectiles were flying erratically and the explosions burned the vines.
"That damned Erigor." Botanica sighed as she saw Kren free himself from the vines before the flames reached him. "His wind barrier is messing with my sunflower missiles."
"Guess I'll have to thank him for that." Kren said sarcastically, relieved he had one less problem to deal with.
"They aren't completely useless." Botanica asserted as the sunflowers closed their petals and opened again. "If I can't aim properly, then I'll just shoot randomly."
Eyes widening, Kren looked up at the sunflowers to see they were facing up before firing. The projectiles flew up into the air before falling, the wind making the fall irregularly. Vines attempted to restrain the dragon slayer, only for him to dodge them. He then ducked behind a rose bush just as the projectiles hit the ground and exploded. The rose bush caught fire from the explosion and Kren immediately backed away from it.
The dragon slayer noticed that a large number of the plants were blown to burning pieces. Not even the sunflowers were spared as they were burning as well. He noticed that there was a lotus flower with closed petals that wasn't there before. The petals opened to reveal Botanica, completely unscaved from the explosions. Although, she looked exhausted, much more than Kren thought she would be.
'Hold on.' Kren looked at the sunflowers to see one still standing and its petals were closed. 'Maybe…' He then looked over to Botanica in contemplation. 'That has to be it.'
Before he could dwell on it for long, the sunflower's petals opened and fired its projectiles again. Kren quickly uses his Water Dragon Wing attack to deflect the projectiles. However, a number of the projectiles landed and exploded on the roofs of nearby buildings. Kren sweated nervously when he saw the damage. He prayed to every god he knew in the other world that he didn't have to pay for the damage.
"Reloading those sunflowers must take a lot out of you." Kren commented, taking notice that the rest of Botanica's plants were wilting. "You can't even maintain your other plants."
"Shut up." Botanica spat out, snapping her fingers as the sunflower closed its petals again. "I'm putting everything I have left in this one attack, there won't even be ashes of you left!"
"Then I'll answer in kind." Kren replied, forming a magic circle as he positioned his hands in front of himself like a trumpeter. He took a deep breath as the sunflower opened its petals and glowed brightly. "Water Dragon Roar!"
The dragon slayer fired the vortex of pressurized water just as the sunflower fired a beam of light. The two attacks collided, pushing against themselves to get through and finish the battle once and for all. Botanica infused more of her magic, powering up the beam and pushing the breath attack back. Kren followed her example and used more of his magic to push the beam back into a stalemate. The two continued this cycle, unwilling to let the other win as they poured every ounce of magic they had left. With a scream, Kren pressed on and finally broke past the beam and destroyed the sunflower.
"This can't be happening!" Botanica shouted, watching in disbelief as her sunflower's petals shattered and blown away by the wind.
"It is, you lose!" Kren lunged towards Botanica and delivered a punch to her gut, knocking the air out of her.
He then swept her off her feet before giving her a roundhouse kick to the side of the head. Botanica flew through the air and slammed through the wall of a building. The building then crumbled and fell on top of her. Kren tried to catch his breath, but didn't let his guard down as the wind blew the debris cloud away. The dragon slayer had no strength left to continue fighting after using all his magic in that last breath attack.
Cautiously, Kren approached the collapsed building before moving the rubble aside. He eventually found Botanica, her eyes closed and face contorted in pain. Kren pressed his fingers against her neck and was relieved when he felt a pulse. He found some rope inside the collapsed building, which he thought was lucky. He dug Botanica out of the rubble and proceeded to tie her up.
"There." Kren dusted his hands when he finished tying up Botanica before looking towards the station. "Now what do I do?"
"Kren!" The dragon perked and looked in the direction of the voice to see Han flying towards him. "Thank god you're alright!"
"Han!" Kren waved to the flying feline, a smile on his face. He then sweatdropped when the strong wind blew against Han, causing the feline to crash in front of the dragon slayer. "You okay there?"
"I'm fine." Han got to his feet, shaking his head to shake off the dizziness. He looked up at Kren and gasped when he saw the makeshift bandage on the dragon slayer's arm. "Kren, you're hurt!"
"Yeah, I had it rough this time." Kren said, looking at his bandaged arm to see it was stained red from his blood. "I honestly thought I was gonna die for a moment."
"Please tell me you disinfected it." Han pleaded, causing the dragon slayer to turn his head away from the feline. "You didn't, did you?"
"I just finished my fight." Kren defended, unwrapping the bandage to survey how bad his injury was. The muscle was still visible, but it seems it stopped bleeding a little. "I didn't have time to disinfect it."
"Luckily I came prepared." Han reached into his jacket and pulled out a spray bottle before jumping onto Kren's shoulder. "Just remember to ask Miss. Sumi to heal it when we get back."
"I'll do that." Kren nodded in agreement, holding up his arm before Han sprayed the bottle's contents on the wound. Kren tried not to cry out at the stinging pain that shot through his body.
"Now to dress the wound." Han muttered, returning the bottle into his jacket and pulled out a roll of bandages.
"How can you fit those in there?" Kren sweatdropped as Han began to bandage his wounded arm.
"Don't know." Han shrugged, tying the bandage tightly making Kren wince before jumping off his owner's shoulder. He looked at the station and noticed the wind barrier surrounding it. "What should we do now?"
"I don't know, Han." Kren held his chin and hummed in thought about what he should do. He tapped his chin with his index finger. "We could go after Erigor, but I don't think my spells will work on him."
"Not to mention you must be exhausted." Han pointed out, noticing that Kren was having trouble standing. He then lightly pushed Kren to a nearby building that wasn't destroyed by the dragon slayer's fight with Botanica. "Just rest and regain your strength for now, we'll figure everything else out with the others."
"I can't rest." Kren shook his head stubbornly, looking in the direction Erigor flew. He took a step forward, staggering before taking another step. "I have to stop Erigor and destroy Lullaby."
"Not in your condition you're not!" Han jumped up and smacked Kren with his tail, resulting in the dragon slayer falling over. "See, you couldn't stand after that."
"But, what about the guild masters?" Kren asked, trying and failing to get back on his feet before leaning his back against the wall. "We have to destroy Lullaby before its true form comes out."
"You worry too much." Han sighed, shaking his head at Kren's stubbornness born from his loyal and protective personality. He placed a paw on the dragon slayer's knee and gave him a reassuring smile. "We'll stop him, we've got Natsu and the others after all."
Kren opened his mouth to further argue, but closed it when he knew Han had a point. Natsu, Erza, and Gray were powerful wizards, he knew that. The dragon slayer knows that they'll stop Erigor and Lullaby. However, Kren couldn't help but wonder if his presence would change that as it did with the appearances of Kal Clum and Botanica. There was so much that could go wrong now that he knew that Fairy Tail was no longer fiction.
The dragon slayer has always loved the members of Fairy Tail when they were characters in the anime and manga. But now they were actual people he could interact with and he was a member of the guild. While it was for a short time, Kren grew to love the Fairy Tail guild more than just someone who read and watched about it. It felt like home to him and Makarov was like a father to everyone in the guild.
His thoughts returned to Natsu, Erza, and Gray and what they were capable of in the anime and manga. Despite using most of her magic, Erza was still able to defeat an entire magical guild by herself. Gray's ice-make magic was also powerful in its own right as he could create anything he puts his mind on. Then there was Natsu, being a dragon slayer himself, Kren knew he was powerful, especially since the pink haired teen was a fire dragon slayer.
He smiled when he thought about the fights he's seen the three were in when he watched the anime and read the manga. Despite the two going at each other's throats on a daily basis, Natsu and Gray still worked amazingly well together. Adding Erza's leadership and strength further solidifies the fact the three are Fairy Tail's strongest team.
"Alright, I'll rest." Kren finally said, relaxing his body a little as he closed his eyes. He cracked an eye open to look at Han. "I trust you'll wake me when the others get out?"
"Leave it to me." Han nodded, placing a paw over his chest confidently. "You just focus on resting, you deserve it."
"Don't I know it." Kren chuckled as he closed his eye before his breathing became even, a sign he was asleep.
"That was fast." Han muttered, checking Kren's fingers for the sleep ring he acquired. When he didn't see it, the feline looked at the sleeping face of his owner. "This fight must've taken a lot out of him."
Han then looked around the area of the destroyed buildings, pushing aside pieces of rubble with great effort. He was disappointed when the first building he searched didn't have what he was looking for. He continued his search with a few other buildings until he found one that was most likely a shop. Amongst the rubble was a single undamaged container and he picked it up. He popped the lid open and peeked inside to see it was filled with water.
Nodding in satisfaction, the feline took the container back to Kren and hopped onto his shoulder. He brought the rim of the container to the dragon slayer's lips and gently tipped it up. The feline was relieved when Kren parted his lips and began to drink in small sips. Han knew that dragon slayers rejuvenate themselves by consuming their element. Since Kren is a water dragon slayer, he would need water to restore his strength and Han was glad he found some.
As the dragon slayer continued to drink, Han noticed that Kren was looking slightly better than he did before. He was starting to look a little pale, but regained color with each sip he took. The dragon slayer also seemed to be having a pleasant dream if the small smile on his face was any indication. Kren's hand reached up to his necklace and Han assumed he was dreaming about Aquacia. He noticed that the dragon slayer often dreamed about the water dragon after recovering some memories about them.
"He should be fine now." Han said softly to not disturb Kren's rest as he continued to give Kren water until the container was empty. He frowned in worry as he turned his attention back to the station. "I just hope everyone gets out of there soon."
I sincerely hope that the wait was worth it, now onto Review Corner!
Karsap: You're welcome, as for whether or not Kren will be a brother figure to Juvia, only time will tell.
Raidentensho: There's a possibility that Kren will get a weapon, as for what kind, I'm not sure. I hope this chapter chapter was worth the wait.
Guest-Questioner: You're welcome, sorry again for frying your brain because of my many whims. Yep, you read between the lines just fine and I do know that. You have made a lot of good suggestions and they will be taken into consideration. In fact, I really will use them if I can fit them into the update when the time comes.
DragonBladeB5: I know what you mean and I want to thank you for understanding. I wouldn't say ghosting is necessary, but it does tend to happen when an author is suffering from writer's block. I have seen the new Ghostbusters movie, I found it pretty interesting. I know it's a little late, but happy birthday to your dad. As for why I'm taking so long, I already explained it in the intro and I deep apologize for you making you and my other readers wait.
That's it for the reviews, I bid you all farewell until the next update.