"Stop it! Let her go!" Happy shouted from the other side of the electrical field. He was having a repeat of what happened between Lucy and Laura last time they were on the isle.
"What's he doing to her!?" Cana looked around for an answer but no one had an answer. "Stop it! Let her go NOW!"
"I don't think she would even if she wanted to…" Mii mumbled.
"Y-Yukino! Wake up!" Lector shouted to the unconscious Yukino, praying she would wake up soon to help Lucy.
"Yukinooo…." Frosch's little eyes were filling with tears as Yukino laid unresponsive to their cries.
"We gotta do something!" Chelia frantically looked for a way around Laura's electric barrier. Without thinking she did the only she that came to mind and threw some black wind at the gate. It clashed before exploding, though there was no damage done to the gate. "N-No damage!?"
"None at all? That's a sturdy barrier…" Draco grinned, seeing it as a fast challenge to knock it down to save Lucy.
"We'll be here all day wasting magic if we don't hurry…!" Luke warned everyone.
"I can do this." Raven nodded to the others while pulling his bow out. He pulled the bowstring back as a small, but potent arrow of wind. He closed one eye and took aim between the gaps of the barrier. "Come on…" And he released the arrow, praying he could hit his mark in any way.
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"Come on!" Laura took a breath while tightening her grip on Lucy's arm just to ensure she couldn't squirm away. "Stop resisting and come out already!" At this point it was hard to tell if they were even talking to Lucy or not. Everything they said went over her head. Was it because she wasn't meant to understand, or that she couldn't? It didn't matter either way, Laura just kept Lucy pinned down and blew the whistle a second time, causing another round of screaming from the celestial wizard.
"S-Stop it…please…" Lucy pleaded, the noise of the whistle beginning to tear at her very core for a reason she couldn't understand. All she knew is that something inside her was reacting very violently to the sound coming from the whistle and as a result a black and red aura started to emanate from her being.
"Yes, I can see it! Bring it forth, Laura!" Xen's grin turned to an insane one. His anxiousness finally reached its peak.
"Ah…!" Laura's eyes gleamed with delight, ushering Xen to hurry over. "Her eyes are red, just like last time and she's got that aura too! You know what that means, right!?" Before she could say anything else, Raven's arrow clipped her shoulder. "Ouch?!" That wound was just enough for her to relinquish her hold on Lucy and stagger backwards, almost dropping the whistle as a result. "What little twerp…!?"
There was an unfamiliar pulse within Lucy's body. She let out a cry as the black and red aura expelled from her body in a brief flash. In that instant any and all magic in the surroundings currently in play was nullified. Laura's electric barrier went down in an instant.
"Ouch!" Mii suddenly yelped while holding her bandaged arm. "T-That was weird…"
"What happened!?" Laura questioned, but felt a spear of ice crash into her back, causing her to lurch forward. "H-Hey…!?"
"Get away from her!" Cana demanded while placing two cards down on the ground: a flame and tornado card. "Dashing Fire!" The two cards activated, unleashing a sprinting flame that slammed into Laura's front, sending her staggering backwards while causing several burns on her fair skin.
"What on Earth…!?" Xen covered his eyes from the pulse of magic. "T-The barrier's down!?"
Chelia back flipped onto the base of a tree, kicking forward while twisting her body so her leg was extended, black wind swirling violently around her foot in an arrow-like shape. "Primary Sky Arrow!" Chelia aimed her foot at Xen's face, but his shielded arm blocked the hit unintentionally, but he still felt the power behind it. In fact, Chelia's kick was so strong it broke Xen's regenerative shield in one blow, leaving him completely defenseless.
"W-What is this…? God Slaying…!?" Xen's eyes widened as he pushed Chelia away with his bare arm, but in that instant Luke and Draco came rushing in.
Luke's right arm was covered in orange flames; he reared his arm back before throwing it forward. "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
Draco's left arm was lit in pure ivory flames. With a grin he threw his arm forward, both he and Luke aiming for the Commandant's chest. "Ardent Spark!"
Contact! The fiery fists of both mages slammed against the chest of the Commandant, the force of the opposing element and their own strength more than enough to send Xen staggering backwards. "Guh!"
"Now's my chance!" Gray took it on himself to finish this; he formed a bow and arrow of purple tinted ice in his hands. He took aim at Xen while pulling the bowstring back. "Ice Devil Zeroth's Destruction Bow!" He unleashed the string, sending the bow soaring towards Xen.
"…!" Xen had no time to recover from the dual Eclipse strike and as a result he was left an open target for Gray's assault. An explosion of ice occurred on the spot.
"Got him!" Gray grinned as the bow of ice disappeared….that grin vanished as the ice started to funnel into a one location: Xen's mouth. "WHAT?!"
"Didn't you hear me before, Fullbuster?" Xen shook his head while licking his lips. "Ice is nothing but a delicious snack to me. I honestly hope you weren't thinking a lucky shot would do me in. If so…you're dumber than you look."
"No way…" Was all Luke could say on the matter. "Is he really a god then!?"
Chelia clenched her hand into a fist, black wind raging around her small hand. "If he is, then it should be up to me to finish him off!"
"That could post a problem…" Xen admitted to himself before glancing at Laura, who was now a few feet away. "Laura, what are you doing!?"
"T-That girl's a monster…!" Laura pointed frantically towards the downed Lucy with a sweat drop on her forehead. Laura's shouting caused everyone to turn to Lucy, whose body was oozing an unfamiliar, yet eerie red aura.
"What the hell did you do to her!?" Cana yelled at Laura.
Lucy slowly brought herself up, hunched over while panting heavily. She clutched a hand on her chest while keeping one eye shut. There was a small panicked expression on her own face that showed even she had no idea what was going on within her; before anyone knew it, the area began to darken considerably while black stars began to twinkle in the darkness. "D-Die…and rejoin the stars…"
"Lucy wait!" Gray began to rush over to Lucy, but he wasn't going to make it in time. Luckily he didn't have to, for Mii knocked Lucy out herself with a swift chop to the back of her neck. The area returned to normal immediately and Lucy laid on the ground unconscious, the aura fading away slowly. "Agh…"
"Geez…that was a close one…" Mii let out a heavy sigh while dusting off her hands. "But on a more important note WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!?"
"That's what happened last time…" Happy mumbled. "I don't know what's going on with her…she's been acting strange ever since she came back from that solo job…and I don't think she knows either."
"Those two Commandants have left…" Mii pointed in the direction Xen and Laura were standing; the space was empty now. "They must've fled when it got all dark…"
"Yukino's hurt…!" Frosch pointed to the unconscious Yukino with tears forming on the corner of his eyes. "Please help!"
"I'm on it!" Chelia nodded and bent down, placing her hands over Yukino to heal her. Her mind couldn't help but flash back to Xen. If he was truly a god then she was one of the only people on the Isle who were capable of dealing with him…but she felt it when she struck him. He was holding back and even still his power was incredible. Seemed like Gray had the sort of same idea.
"Oi!" Natsu arrived on the scene with Selene, Sting, and Rogue. "W-Whoa…what the heck happened here!?"
"Looks like everyone was hit by a train…" Rogue mumbled.
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"How unfortunate…" Brax sighed as the Strauss and Roulette siblings all fell before him in an unconscious state. The red haired commandant held one of his Chakrams over his shoulders while staring at his victims. "And here I was hoping that I could get a little blood pumping for a change…I guess not." The other Chakram began spinning rapidly as flames coated it. "I suppose I'll just clean up the garbage here then…" The sound of a faint cough caused him to halt his action. "Hm…?"
"N-No…" Lisanna shakily pushed herself up, grimacing in pain. One eye was kept shut and she held her arm while staring at Xen. "T-This isn't…over! I…I have to see Mira-nee again…a-and I won't…let anyone stop me…" She almost fell over again but kept her balance. "I-I don't care…who you are…or how strong you are…you won't keep my away from my sister!"
"Oh? I didn't think anyone still conscious after that last one…." Brax was impressed by Lisanna's tenacity. "Well congrats. You wanna meet your sister? Well, from what I hear she's dead, ain't she? So if you wanna meet, I'll be happy to help you cross the bridge!" Brax threw the prepared flaming chakram at Lisanna without a moment's notice. Lisanna was too exhausted to try and evade so she ended up taking the hit head on, caught in the roaring explosion of flames while letting out a shriek of pain.
With the flames dying down, Lisanna was on her knees, covered in burn marks while gasping for air. She glanced over at the unconscious Elfman before standing up again. "I've always been the weakest one of my siblings…they're always protecting me…a-and now it's my turn…" Lisanna entered her half-bird takeover and took to the skies, narrowly evading the chakrams thrown into air to strike her down. Once she was in prime position she tucked her wings in and dove down towards Brax, a fiery blue aura appearing around her body.
Brax realized the threat of the incoming Lisanna and his eyes widened just briefly. "Oh dear…" And when impact was made, a giant smoke cloud formed in the area after the small tremor.
Lisanna was on her hands and knees, panting heavily after such a reckless and heavy use of magic. She stared into the clearing cloud of smoke, only for her eyes to widen in pure fear. "….."
Brax stepped from the smoke, covered in bruises and scratches from Lisanna's attack. "I have to admit…that brave attempt actually hurt a little bit…"
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"…." Blues remained silent while staring the orange sky. There was nothing there and that was the thing that worried him the most.
"Blues-san, are you okay? You've been staring at the sky for a long time now…" Juvia worriedly asked.
"I'm fine. But I'm worried about Ena. The sky has been really quiet since the rain stopped…" Blues replied. "I know if she beat that Kurthnaga she would've returned to us as soon as possible…"
"I'm sure Ena just needed to rest." Erza replied, not wanting to believe anything bad happened to Ena. "Her brother has a presence that demands respect…they're both powerful."
"Even so…" Blues trailed off, just leaving the thoughts as they were for now. "Anyway, let's continue. I think we're getting closer…I can sense a fresh flow of water under us, I can only assume that we're going the right way.
"I hope everyone's okay…" Aira mumbled to herself, praying for the safety of Ena, Takeru, Mirajane, and Leon.
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Edna casually appeared before Reve's group, tapping her foot with a bit of impatience while staring at the humans across from her. "You loser humans are something else you know? It's surprising to see you lame-os haven't given up and quit yet."
"Is that a dragon?" Cygnus asked Heather. "Or is it just a really annoying lost little girl? Or is it both?"
"That's…a dragon, believe it or not…" Heather said while preparing herself. "However…I can discern what type of dragon she is. There's a particular scent around her…"
"Oh, did you catch a whiff of my fragrance?" Edna questioned with a coy smile. "It's pretty sweet smelling, isn't it? A much better scent than the musk you people have on you. Seriously, go take a shower or something."
"Wow. She's really annoying." Jaxon stated while crossing his arms.
"It was raining!" Milliana shouted. "I got all wet and I hate water…"
"Seriously, that rain was such a drag…" Melody complained while still squeezing some water from her hair.
"I believe this young, beautiful dragon is withholding some information from us..." Hibiki said while adjusting his tie. "Perhaps I should…"
"Don't waste your breath, Hibiki!" Cygnus said while holding back a snicker. "Young? She may be small…but I bet she's like 400 years old or something! HAAHA!"
Edna's brow twitched at Cygnus mocking her age; while it was true she appeared younger than she actually was, she still took it as an insult. As a result she stepped on the ground, causing a crystal to rise and strike Cygnus. "What was that?"
"Whoa…!" Cygnus took a step back to avoid the crystal that almost impaled him.
"There it is." Reve immediately used his Quick Draw technique to pull out a pistol and take a shot at Edna within the blink of an eye; however the pink haired dragon merely waved her hand in the same second, creating a small crystal that deflected the bullet elsewhere. "Tch."
"Crystal Dragon?" Lyon questioned while sliding into the ice make position. "That's a new one…"
"There are a many kinds of dragons on this isle…" Edna responded to Lyon's curiosity before stepping ground once again, creating several crystal spikes that popped from the ground in attempt to skewer the mages, though they all jumped away in the nick of time. "Oh phooey…you're all actually sharp."
"If I didn't know any better I'd say she wants to see our blood spill…" Melody tsked while sliding into the maker stance. "I'm sorry to break it to you, but I like my blood inside my body and nowhere else."
"Is that so? Well you little humans are going to learn that you don't get what you want when you're in someone else's home…" Edna put her foot down, a false sweet smile crossing her lips.
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Next time: Blackheart