Woah. I have arrived. Don't worry guys, working up on updating my other stories every week too (cries in lazy). But it's a work in progress.
Enjoy!
Saying that Crime Sociere's airship was packed was an understatement. Everywhere Drake looked both guild members and citizens of Magnolia were lying all around, in various states of injury and disbelief. Wendy was a literal whirlwind, moving every which way she could and healing as many critical injuries as possible, and she barely broke a sweat. As was to be expected, she'd spent years healing injuries in a guild like Fairy Tail. She had the endurance to do it.
Sparing a look out the window, Drake stared at the darkened skyline, snow evaporating from the heat long before it hit the ground. He couldn't believe this had happened, and he also couldn't believe he was stuck here.
"Stay here, Drake! You found her once, now it's my turn!"
Natsu's words replayed in Drake's head as he watched the father run off, a frown on his face. Slamming his fist against the wall, he stunned a few people nearby, making them stare at him in fright. Giving them an apologetic look, Drake opted to walk out of the airship, where even more people lay around in pain.
"How's it in there?" Drake looked to his left to find Simon standing there, a bruise forming on his chin. The elder boy had neglected to say how bad he was injured, instead doing his best to help others. He could only hope it wasn't bad.
"Not very good," he replied as his frown deepened. "Wendy can only do so much."
"I know, but she's all we have right now." Simon replied as he looked around at the other people around them. "We need to find a way to stabilise after something like this."
"We should focus on getting out of here," Drake replied. "We can only do so much, but if this was supposed to be an attach, then-!"
Drake! Drake!" Drake's eyes perked up at the sound of his voice being called, and he whipped around in surprise. Running at them through the debris was Luna, arm beat up and blood dripping down her forehead. Drake rushed towards her without a second thought, catching her as she nearly collapsed into his arms.
"Are you okay?" He asked, trying to keep his voice stable and helpful. Luna gulped loudly at this, looking up at him.
"My arm really hurts," she said. "And I feel lightheaded, but-"
"We need to get you to Wendy," Simon said as he joined the pair. "That arm looks bad."
"It'll be fine! I-"
"You might have a concussion," Drake said as he put a hand on the girls forehead, silencing her as her cheeks reddened. "How many fingers am I holding up?" He asked, holding up three.
"That's not important!" Luna shouted again. "I need to go back out there! He needs my help!"
"He?" Simon asked. "What are you talking about?" Luna stood up on her own too feet, stumbling a bit as she did so, looking back and forth between the rubble and Drake.
"I...He...He saved...Me...I...I need to...I..."
"Luna, calm down." He said, still trying to remain calm. "Who're you talking about? Where is he? You need to tell us what happened."
"T-They found me!" She said, making Drake's eyes widen. "A man and a woman. T-They tried to make me go with them...S-Said I was one of them! But I knew, s-somehow, that they were lying. I tried to run, they caught me...He saved me! He's in trouble, we have to back for him!"
"Who?" Drake asked again, still not letting Luna run off. This only made her growl in frustration.
"I don't remember his name!" She cried angrily. "He was tan with brown hair, strong physique...Used Earth Magic!"
"That's Rocky," Simon said, making Drake nod at this. It was Rocky.
"Alright Luna, you need to go and see Wendy about your injuries. You look bad."
"We need to help him!"
"I'll go help him," he replied stoically, looking back at Simon. The red haired man nodded, moving to help guide Luna to the healer.
"B-But-" she started weakly, clearly near collapse as Simon took her.
"Don't worry," he said with a bright smile that he put on for her sake. "I'll bring him back."
"Be safe," Simon said. "Don't do anything stupid. If Rocky is in combat it's-"
"With The Olympians, I know." Drake replied, smile disappearing as Luna was guided away by Sorano, who had appeared to take her off of Simon. "I'll get him out and get back here. But if they're here, that means we can't be."
"What should we do?" Drake didn't like their only option, but it was what they had to do.
"Tell your dad wheels up in ten minutes." He said as he began to walk away. "With or without me and Rocky, no matter what."
"Drake-!"
"You know what this is about, don't you?!" Drake asked, looking back at Simon, who only watched him. "They're after her! We need to get Luna out as quickly as possible! If I'm not back with Rocky in ten minutes, leave without me! Go to Sabertooth or somewhere safe. Keep an eye on her."
"It'll be hard to do that when I'm going with you." Simon replied as he walked up to Drake.
"What?" Before he could say anything, Simon turned his head back to the airship.
"DAD!" he shouted at the top if his lungs. Within ten seconds Jellal had appeared by their side as a golden blur, staring down at Simon.
"What is it?"
"We need to leave, The Olympians are here." Simon said as he began to walk away. "If Drake and I don't make it back in ten minutes, leave without us, is that clear?"
"Simon-" Jellal started, clearly confused.
"We don't have time to argue!" Simon said. "Got it?!"
"I was just gonna say be careful," Jellal replied. Despite the clear worry on his face, he managed a smile. "And bring whoever you're after back here quick." Simon seemed surprised for a moment, but nodded. He turned to look at Drake, and together the two tore off into the destroyed city.
"Where are we headed?" Simon asked as they ran. Drake activated his sound magic, but immediately turned it off.
"I can't hear anything with the city like this!" He shouted. "All I here is pain and suffering!"
"Well how're we going to-?!" Before either of them could say a word, an explosion sounded off to their south. Drake could only watch as debris and magic flew into the air, smaller explosions sounding off as well.
"Last chance to turn back," He said as he looked at Simon. The redhead's expression only steeled.
"I'm not letting anyone else die." Drake could only smile at this.
"Shall we be off then?"
It was like nothing Rocky had ever felt before in his life.
Pure energy coursed through every single part of his body, propelling him to his feet as bright yellow magic continued to flow into his body. Through the haze brought on by the magic he could see both Olympians watching him in surprise, not sure what to do.
This is my chance! I have to defeat them!
With a mighty roar of defiance, Rocky slammed his fists into the dirt, opening up a chasm that raced towards his enemy. Demeter used her vines to get out of the way, but Ares was not so fortunate to have an evasion so successful. He attempted to dodge the pit opening up beneath him, but the pit was having none of it. Opening it's maw even wider, Ares was swallowed whole by the chasm. Rocky was no fool, he could hear the man driving his sword into the wall of the pit, stopping his fall before he fell to far and died. He didn't have time to wait, he needed to end this.
Turning his attention to Demeter, Rocky raised his arms and gathered magic into his palms. He watched as the rubble around him responded to his power, rising up into the sky. A simple point was all it took for the rubble to fly at Demeter, who used her vines to pierce and keep the rubble from striking her directly. That wasn't going to stop him though.
Surging fourth on a wave of debris, Rocky punched through the debris hiding the woman and slammed a fist into the vines protecting her. The foliage bent at the sheer weight being thrust upon them, and he managed to break through without any problem. This left Demeter exposed, who looked surprised as he grabbed her wrist.
"W-What did you do?" She asked. Rocky grinned through the pain of his body beginning to break down.
"Pulled my ace in the hole out is what I did," he replied. Turning, Rocky whipped the woman back through the debris, sending her high into the air. Not giving her a chance to get herself back down, Rocky raised a giant pillar from the ground and slammed it into her, sending the woman far away from the battlefield. Before he had a chance to think, Ares pulled himself out of the hole and faced him, shield up.
"Turns out you had some more fight in you, huh?!" The man shouted as he banged on his shield. "Come and get it then!" Rocky obliged him, rushing forwards with a raised fist. His punch was blocked by the shield, causing an explosive ringing noise to sound off as Rocky bounced away. Ares took no time to hesitate, rushing Rocky. The man kept getting his shield in the way, making it impossible to hit him as he advanced. The wound Rocky already had was wearing him thin already, taking another would be too much to handle.
Just a little longer!
When he rebounded off of the shield this time, Rocky dodged the blade and grabbed the edges of the shield tightly. Ares looked surprised by this motion, especially when Rocky tore at it as hard as he could. Ares stumbled forward due to this, giving Rocky the perfect opening. He delivered a punch to the mans face, and then rose a pillar of earth below him and drove him up into the sky. Tossing the shield to the side, Rocky raised his arms again, and the earth rose to his will.
"Supreme King Rock Crush!"
Using one of the techniques he'd learned under Jura, Rocky caused the debris nearby to fly up and meet Ares, encapsulating him in countless bits of rubble. Rocky slammed his hands together, causing all of the rocks to explode against Ares all at once. Rocky watched as the man soared back to earth and landed on his back, coughing.
"This raw power..." He hissed as he climbed to his feet despite the fall. The feral grin Ares wore shook Rocky slightly more than he liked. "I wasn't expecting someone like you to hold it."
"You and everyone else," Rocky replied as he prepared himself for another attack. This was't over, and he needed to end it before-
He couldn't even finish his thought before tendrils of vegetation slammed him into the dirt, wrapped firmly around his midsection.
"Insolent child," He heard Demeter hiss as she rejoined them. From what Rocky could see she was bleeding, and badly. "To beat us so thoroughly."
"This isn't over yet," Ares said as he swung his sword around in his hand.
"You're right," Rocky replied as the earth beneath him rumbled. "It's isn't." Bursting free of his binds, he turned and flicked his hand upwards. This made the earth Demeter stood on fly up into the sky, and another flicked cause it to slam her back into the dirt. Struggle as she may, Demeter wasn't getting out of that anytime soon. Naturally, he still needed to deal with Ares. As he turned to do this, Rocky realised he was too late.
Ares had already cleaved his left arm clean off in his moment of weakness.
Rocky watched as his severed limb hit the dirt, his already lightheaded feeling intensifying. Ares only laughed at this.
"Aw, did that hurt?" He asked. "Oh well. That's what you get for challenging a God."
"Y-You're no God," Rocky spat angrily. "Y-You're just an enemy. An enemy I need to beat!"
"Yeah, spit your shit all you want," Ares replied as he readied his blade for a piercing move. "You're done now." Rocky knew that reality couldn't be as slow as it seemed, but he could see the slow movements in Ares' arms as he prepared to stab.
No...It can't end like this! I'm not done yet! He can't get away! HE CAN'T!
Rocky's left arm grabbed the blade before it stabbed through him, making Ares flinch in surprise.
Looking down, Rocky saw that his real limb was on the ground, just as he'd left it. So, how had he...?
The earth.
Looking to his left, he saw that the earth itself had risen and attached itself to his wound, creating a makeshift arm in place of the original. It was no bandage, but for now he had an arm.
"...A God?" Rocky asked with a smirk, bending the blade with his new hand. "No God would get their attacked stopped by someone as pathetic as me!" With this, Rocky broke the blade and delivered it right back to Ares, stabbing it through his armour and into his shoulder. The man fell back in surprise, but Rocky didn't give him any room to breath. With only a slight manipulation of his magic, Rocky's new arm transformed into a spear. With as much effort as he could muster, he stabbed the spear of earth right down into Ares, the satisfying crunch of metal sending the man down into the ground.
"Haha...I got it now." Rocky's eyes widened at this. No, there was just no way.
"Ares had blocked with his shield, the spear cracking and breaking in two. Where had he even gotten that thing from? Rocky had thrown it away from them!
"...What?" He asked weakly, not quite sure what had happened. Ares only laughed at this, shield shuddering from the pressure on both sides.
"That magic you used a bit ago was very impressive," Ares said, once again adorning that damn smile. "I was quite taken aback by the power you wielded. However..."
Ares drove his sword through Rocky's chest, making him gasp in surprise.
"Powerful magic means nothing if the wizard casting it is weak," Ares said as his smirk grew wider. "Impressive and flashy sure, but it wasn't near good enough you rodent." Pushing up, Rocky was discarded off to the side like a piece of trash. Ares slowly pulled the blade from his chest, blood flying everywhere as he flicked the blade.
This was it, he was done.
Despite the magic he still felt coursing through his veins, Rocky couldn't summon the strength to move. The stomach wound, the chest wound, and having lost an arm was too much. He was dying, and he'd die pretty shortly. All he could do was watch as Ares walked over to where Demeter had been sent into the ground, eyeing it curiously.
"Bah, whatever," He heard over the ringing in his ears. "I'll get her later. "Priority number one is the girl. I'll come back for Demeter." With this, Ares walked away from the battlefield, every step making the pain even worse.
I can't allow this! He's going to take her!
He had to do something! Anything! But even if he'd wanted too, he couldn't. He didn't even have the strength to stand. He'd summoned all of this power, all of this potential, and he'd squandered it?! He really was weak and pathetic.
...No. There's one thing I can do.
Ignoring the vines slowly pushing the boulder above Demeter up, Rocky used everything he had to force his hands together in a praying position.
And he began to hum. It was all he had.
"Rocky!" Rocky turned as Jura called him, stopping his sparing with Terra. "Come here. I have another challenge for you." Bowing to Terra, which made her smirk, Rocky jogged over towards the master of Lamia Scale.
"What is it, Jura?" He asked.
"I've seen you sparing," he said. "You're very good. Clearly self taught, but good."
"Thank you Master Jura." He replied as he bowed. "That's all thanks to you and Terra."
"You are a very good student as well," Jura said. "Are you ready to try and practice my strongest technique?" Rocky couldn't even begin to explain the joy he felt as this question. Finally! The strongest spell Jura knew.
"I'm more than ready!" He replied excitedly. Jura nodded, uncrossing his arms.
"This spell is called Rumbling Mt. Fuji," he explained. "It's a very powerful spell, one that summons magic power from the earth, detonating a massive amount of it once it's here. Be wary; this spell consumes a lot of magic power. If you aren't ready, it'll wear you right out. Do you think you can handle it?" Rocky only smiled at this, despite the unease in his stomach.
"I know I can!"
It was all he could do to keep his hands in the prayer position. He knew he hadn't mastered this spell yet, but he had to use it. Besides, he had a little cheat up his sleeve.
One of the hardest parts of using Rumbling Mt. Fuji was summing the vast amount of magic from the earth. But Rocky didn't need to do that. He already had magic from the earth coursing through his veins.
He was going to use Rumbling Mt. Fuji to detonate the magic he'd called with Gaia's Cry, turning himself into a bomb.
"Please don't die for me!"
That was the plan anyway.
"...Ares!" Rocky's yell caused Ares to pause and turn around, and his eyes widened.
"What are you-?!"
"What did I say?!" Rocky shouted, ignoring the bubbling lava in his veins. "WHAT DID I SAY?! I WON'T LET YOU HURT HER!"
"You stupid fucking-!"
"RUMBLING MT. FUJI!"
"Get ready, we're almost there!" Drake said as he gathered poison around his hands. The explosions had stopped, which didn't do anything to help Drake's stomach. Running through the debris was way harder than he thought it would be, seeing as he had to jump over everything less he trip and hit his face.
After a few more seconds, Drake's hair began to stand up on end. At first he ignored it, but it became clear that his body was reacting to a massive amount of magic power nearby.
"Do you feel that?" Simon asked as the pair began to slow. "I really don't like the feeling I'm getting."
"Neither do I, but we can't stop!" Drake replied. "We need to get there before-!"
A massive explosion cut both men off, making them turn to it in surprise. The explosion sounded off exactly where they had been running, and it roared towards them without a care in the world.
"Get down!" Shoving Drake to the ground, Simon stood in between him and the blast, requipping into his Adamantine armour. The redhead put his massive shield up, blocking them both from the blast. Drake covered his head as raw power exploded on all side except his front, but Simon kept him protected from the worst of it. The blast persisted for a few more seconds before finally stopping, returning Magnolia's ruins to it's quiet state.
"What the hell just happened?" He demanded weakly, looking around as the area. Even the rubble from buildings had been taken away by the blast. It looked more like a wasteland than a city.
"Nothing good, come on!" Getting up to follow, both men rushed towards the blast zone without a care, finally arriving at the epicentre of the attack.
Nothing remained except for a body propped up on some boulders.
"Rocky!" Drake shouted as he rushed to the boys side, pausing when he reached him. Rocky looked terrible. His arm was missing, and he had two deep stab wounds in his body. He wasn't going to make it anywhere, not like that.
"Holy shit..." Simon hissed as he too reached them. The two stared down at Rocky silently, and Drake's eyes somehow widened even further when Rocky's eyes fluttered.
"...D-Drake...?" He asked weakly, his one open eye trying it's best to focus on Drake. Kneeing down, Drake managed a smile.
"Don't worry Rocky, you're gonna be fine okay?" He asked, looking down at his body. He tried to figure out a way to help, but nothing came to mind. "We're gonna get you back to Wendy and-"
"Don't be stupid, Drake." Rocky said. "I'm going to die here. D...Did I kill them?"
"Kill who?" Simon asked, also kneeling. Rocky took his sweet time responding, but Drake felt rushing him wouldn't do any good.
"Demeter...Ares...Are they dead?" Drake looked around the blast zone, but saw nothing. He did see what looked like scorched blood to his left, but he ignored it and smiled down at Rocky.
"You got em alright," he said. "You're a hero man. Let's get you back to-"
"There's no point," Rocky replied weakly. "Even if I made it back to Wendy, she...She can't help me. I...I'm lucky I'm still in one piece right now."
"What do you mean?" Simon asked. Rocky coughed, and Drake resisted the urge to look down at whatever had come up.
"I...I used a spell that's meant to power a wizard up," he managed. "At...At the cost of their life."
"...You what?" Drake managed.
"You heard me," Rocky said. "Even now I...I can feel my body disappearing. Look down." Doing as he was told, Drake saw his friends legs turning to dust. Rocky was literally turning into dust.
"W-What did you do?" Drake asked. Rocky just laughed.
"Not important..." He said. "Drake...Listen. They're after her, you know...Luna."
"I know, I know." Drake said as he did his best to put pressure on Rocky's wounds. "She's with the others, she's safe. You saved her, Rocky. You." Despite his horrific injuries, Rocky's mouth twisted into a smile.
"I...I'm glad," he said. "I'm glad I could...Redeem myself somehow."
"You're not done yet, you need to live for that!" Drake said, ignoring Rocky's waist turning to dust now as well.
"Drake listen closely..." Rocky said as he watched him weakly. "I...I need you to protect her, o-okay? Just like you always have...Protect her from The Olympians, like you did...From me. Promise me."
"Rocky-"
"Promise. Me." Pressing his mouth into a thin line, Drake watched Rocky's sad expression sadly. Finally, he nodded.
"Of course," He said. "I'll protect her. I swear as long as I live, they won't lay a finger on her." Rocky managed another smile.
"Thank Goodness..." He said. "I'm glad...You're so resilient to the enemy...Maybe I'm to blame for that."
"Don't talk like that," Drake hissed, fighting the tears. "You were a shithead sure, but Nashi forgave you. So I did too. Everyone did. No ones mad at you anymore."
"...And I can finally forgive myself as well..." Rocky said, laughing as his stomach disappeared into the wind. "It's funny...Now that I'm going to die, I...I'm forgiven. I figured not even that would've saved me." Drake couldn't find words as Rocky's arms went as well, leaving him as an upper torso and a head. Rocky stared into the distance for a bit, before he turned back to Drake and Simon.
"...Don't die for her, either." He said. "She needs you, Drake...She loves you. She always did. Always by her side...like her prince."
"You're delirious now, aren't you?" Drake asked shakily.
"...Maybe I am..." Rocky said. "Maybe I...Maybe I loved her too. In a fucked up way." At this Rocky's torso finally disappeared, leaving him with no way to speak. Drake kept eye contact with Rocky as his head finally turned to dust, as gust of wind kicking it up and making it fly everywhere.
He was gone, just like that.
Neither Simon or Drake said anything for a few moments, allowing themselves a moment to honour their fallen comrade.
"...We should go," Simon finally said. "Or Dad will leave without us." Drake didn't reply to this. "Drake?"
"...We're killing them all," Drake said, turning to stare determinedly at Simon. "All of them. Agreed?" Simon watched him warily for a moment, before he nodded slowly.
"You're damn right we will."
Somewhere else in the city, far far away from where Rocky had met his end, a steel shield lay face up on the ground. The shield was quite large and heavy, emblazoned with a boar.
"Stupid kid..."
A man picked it up. Despite the clear wounds all over his body, Ares The God of War grabbed his shield and cracked his shoulders.
"Didn't think he'd go suicidal like that," he said to himself as he ignored the pain he was feeling. "I barely got my shield up in time. I wonder if Demeter got away..."
Having survived the one last shot from Rocky of Fairy Tail, Ares stumbled off into the distance.
After all, he was going to need backup after this.
And as Rocky's fight comes to a close, we find it was in vain. Ares stands. What's going to happen now? I don't know really. I never thought I'd get this far. I'm joking obviously, but I like to screw with you guys! I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!
Chapter 311: Safe Haven