Hello everyone. I did not mean to take such an extended break. Not to get too personal, but their was a death in my extended family. It's been hard on myself and my family, so I took some time. I am back though, so let's continue where we left off, shall we?
Simon had an unrelenting urge to turn his head and check on the Dragon Slayers, but he didn't have the opportunity. If he did, this puppet of Rocky would take his head off. He dodged around another pillar of rock that flew for him, frowning. Whatever this thing was that was wearing Rocky's face, it was much more powerful than he had been. Disgustingly so. Simon barely had any time to react and protect himself from these attacks. It didn't help that he was tired and hungry. They needed to end this quickly.
A lightning bolt destroyed a boulder flying for his face, courtesy of Steph. He flew through the debris and aimed his sword downwards, intent on driving it right through Rocky. His former guild mate dodged away and caused the earth to open up, trying to swallow Simon whole before he flew out of the way with Meteor.
"Why do you insist on tiring yourselves out?" Rocky's voice echoed around him. "You can't beat me, just let us take the girl." He didn't validate that question with a response. It wasn't worth his time. Flying high over the battlefield, he saw Tetsu on the ground, punching his way through rock after rock thrown his way. However, Tetsu too was tired and starving, and was getting pushed further and further away with each strike. This was not a good situation to be in. They needed out, now.
Steph!" He shouted. As she looked up, he requipped into his Lightning Emperor armor. Obviously she got the hint, as electricity crackled around her before flying upwards, striking his spear's head. The weapon absorbed Steph's power and became so dangerous it literally vibrated in Simon's hand, threatening to snap in half from the magic it contained. Looking down, Simon watched for any opening on rocky as Tetsu pushed his way forward. He was focusing his attention on Rocky, and soon the lightning Steph was tossing at him. Steph flew fast with her magic, appearing behind Rocky and forcing him to turn. It was his opening.
"Lightning Emperor's Divine Bolt!" Coupling Steph's electricity with Meteor, Simon threw the spear as hard as he could, causing a thunderclap to go off as it left his hand and cleaved through the air downwards, heading straight for Rocky's head. He had no time to avoid it, as all it took was a single second for the spear to strike him.
BOOM!
The resulting explosion was so powerful it knocked Simon backwards, nearly causing him to fall when the smoke and debris from the blast blinded him. He coughed and flew backwards out of the range of the attack, seeing Steph dragging Tetsu out of it.
"Could've warned me," Tetsu mumbled, his body crackling with electricity.
"I'll take your next shift on guard duty," Simon said back, panting heavily as he faced the explosion.
"Did you kill him with that?" Steph asked.
"Hardly," Simon replied. "We probably just pissed him off."
As if to prove his point, his Lightning Spear was tossed through the smoke at his feet, broken in two pieces.
"That hurt," Rocky said as he appeared from the smoke, body singed but otherwise perfectly fine. Simon grit his teeth as he put the broken spear away, requipping again into his Black Wing Armor.
"How're the others doing?" He asked under his breath. Steph was the one who turned her head.
"I don't see Apocalypse," she replied quietly. "I don't see Ultear either." Simon cast a wary eye back towards the forest, where they'd left Ultear on her own. This was going from bad to worse, and very quickly.
"Steph," he said, "you're the only one we can spare. Go and find Ultear. We need to make a hasty exit."
"I want to fight," Steph said stubbornly.
"This isn't a fight we can win," he replied weakly, already feeling fatigued. "Not after months of eating and sleeping like we have been." Tetsu nodded weakly, rubbing his wrists.
"My iron is weaker than it's ever been," he said. "It's already threatening to crack."
"If we can't fight, how're we going to get out of here?" Steph asked. Simon winced at the obvious flaw in their plan.
"We either fight and lose here," he said, "or run, maybe get away, and fight another day. Take your pick." He turned to look at Steph warily, waiting to see if she challenged him again.
"I'm still here, you know."
Simon's eyes widened at this. In the blink on an eye he requipped into his Adamantine Armor and raised the shield, blocking the massive boulder that had been thrown their way. His bones groaned inside him from the pressure, not able to keep up this fight for long.
"Steph go!" He shouted. This seemed to spur her to action, and she disappeared in a bolt of lightning back towards the forest.
"I don't really remember much from before I got resurrected," Rocky said across from them. "But it feels wrong to see Fairy Tail planning a retreat."
It was the last thing Simon wanted to do, but they had no choice. Rocky, Apocalypse and whoever Ultear was fighting were more powerful than the Children of Nyx had been back in the Circles. These were foes at a different level, imbued with power by the God of Death. A gaggle of starving, exhausted wizards were not much of a threat. They needed to get out of here, and fast.
"What even is the plan?" Tetsu asked under his breath. "Do you have one?"
"Working on that," Simon replied, his exhausted brain trying to find a solution. "We could have Keita shadow travel us out of here, we could use my Meteor with some kind of carriage Ultear makes out of ice..."
"You think we'll have enough time for that?" Tetsu asked.
"One thing at a time I guess," he replied, laughing weakly. He cast a look over his shoulder to see if Apocalypse had reappeared, but he hadn't. "We need to keep Rocky busy." he said.
"I don't know how many more city sized rocks I can take to the face," Tetsu said warily.
"Maybe we don't need to fight," Simon replied.
"Huh?"
"They aren't trying to kill us," Simon replied. "They want to take us back so we can live in Zomrus' new utopia or whatever the hell he's planning. Maybe we can stall him until we see an exit." Tetsu frowned at this, his eyes darting around anxiously.
"Let's hope he isn't irritated with us," he muttered. Simon nodded weakly before he turned his eyes back to Rocky. He hadn't attacked them again, so it seemed maybe he was on the mark.
"Rocky," he called, "we don't have to do this."
"You're right," Rocky replied. "We don't. So just surrender and come with us."
"You know we can't do that," he replied. "You said it yourself; Fairy Tail planning a retreat feels weird." Rocky frowned and rubbed the back of his neck.
"I don't know why," he replied. "But it does. Apparently I was one of you before I died, so maybe that's why."
"You were one of us," Simon said. "A member of Fairy Tail. Do you remember how you died."
"No," Rocky replied. He looked up at Simon with a raised eyebrow. "Do you?" Simon smiled weakly, glad he could hold this conversation.
"You died fighting The Olympians," he said. "You gave up your life so Nashi could escape from Demeter and Ares. You saved her, she and Drake both said so." Rocky made a face at this.
"Drake..." he mumbled. "I vaguely recall the name. Is he here?" Having to wonder about the location of the Poison Dragon made Simon's heart ache, but he shoved it down.
"He's off on a different mission," he excused. "But he said you died a hero. Died so Nashi could escape. So don't go back on that now. Don't side with the man trying to kill her and dishonor your own sacrifice." Rocky frowned and crossed his arms.
"Zomrus is saying she's the one thing stopping him from creating a utopia," he said. "That she's an error in the world that needs to be corrected."
"Of course he'd say that," Simon replied. "She's the one trying to stop him."
"Why stop God from creating a paradise?" Rocky pressed. "Why make so many people suffer so one girl can live?" Simon grit his teeth, having already heard this argument before from too many people.
"Do you really think a paradise is what Zomrus is creating?" He asked, "by enslaving all of us and forcing us to do as he says? Where's the utopia in that?"
"Free will gave rise to sin," Rocky countered. "Sin gave rise to evil, and evil gave rise to tyranny. Free will left unchecked by a higher power will always end in disaster. History has proven this to be true."
"Is that Zomrus talking, or you, Rocky?" He asked. This seemed to make his old guildmate pause.
"...It's me," he said. "I think? I'm sure it's me."
"The Rocky I know would never say something so stupid." Simon said. "He gave his life to prevent the future you want. Let me ask you this; if free will ceases to exist, then what is the point of us existing at all?"
"What?" Rocky asked. Simon was just blabbering at this point, but it was buying him time.
"If free will is taken away," he said, "then why bother living at all if no choice is your own? Your life would be no different from the millions of people around you. All one and the same. I'd rather die than have someone else determine my future for me."
"Allowing humanity the freedom to determine their own fate has led us here where we are," Rocky said. "So it must be taken away."
"I don't believe that," Simon said, "and you shouldn't either!"
"And why not?" He grimaced at this. The words bubbling up in his mind would be a gamble, a test to see if any of Rocky really remained in there. But he had to chance it.
"In life, you were Nashi's bully at first," he said, making Rocky's eyes narrow. "You teased and taunted her, you bullied her, you made her hate her life. But you didn't stay that way. You changed after a time! You moved past your jealously and inferiority and made a fragile peace with her. You gave your life for her! If our fates are determined by others, than yours would've been one of an evil bully! Is that the fate you see for yourself? Does that Rocky have any place in Zomrus' utopia?"
Rocky did not reply, so he pressed the issue.
"And what of others who're born different?" He asked. "What of those who want to control their own destiny like us? Do you think Zomrus would allow such people to exist in his paradise? That he'd let them live? Of course not. He'd wipe out anyone born with a semblance of rebellion in their hearts. Where's the paradise in that? Is that just? To punish people for what they MIGHT do?"
Again, Rocky did not reply.
"Because that's what this is, Rocky!" He shouted. "Punishing all of humanity for not only what we might do, but for what a small population did do! Why do I have to have my freedom taken away because some Dictator half a world away was an asshole? Where's the fairness in that?!"
"Sacrifices have to be made for suffering to be destroyed," Rocky replied, sounding half-hearted.
"You're not destroying suffering," Simon snarled. "You're just shifting what it's definition would be. And countless people suffering under Zomrus is not a world I intend to live in!"
For a brief moment, in looked like the dark fog in Rocky's eyes was lifted. He looked more like himself, more human than undead puppet. But it didn't take long for that fog to come back, and his expression hardened.
"The suffering will last for only several generations," he said. "Once the memory of freedom fades, they will have no alternative to strive for. That will be our paradise." Rocky raised his hands. "I've let you ramble. Last chance; Give us Nashi and come to the Capital, or I'll make you." Simon exhaled shakily, gripping his sword in his hand tightly.
"Not a chance," he replied. Rocky frowned.
"That I apologize for what you're making me do."
"Where'd Keita go?" Nashi turned as Michael asked her this, watching him run up to her. The God Slayers were following after him, looking decidedly better than they did a second ago. All three now had a sigil glowing on their chests.
"He used some technique," Nashi replied. Michael frowned.
'Shadow Prison?" He asked.
"He said something like that, yeah," Elise said. "How did you know?" Michael clicked his teeth and looked at the ground beneath him.
"It's a technique he should know better than to use against someone like that guy," he said. "It traps his opponent in a dark, endless void with Keita, endlessly barraged and attacked by shadows."
"That doesn't sound too bad," Nashi admitted.
"The problem is it saps magic. A lot of it," Michael replied. "He's going to run out of energy within five minutes. Ten, if he's lucky."
"Why did he use it then?" Katsuchi asked, the fog in his eyes clearer than before. "Dumbass locked himself in prison too."
"I can only guess," Michael said. "But probably to spare the two of you from having to face that guy." Nashi frowned and looked at her feet, Elise mumbling curses under her breath.
"Dumbass is going to get himself killed," she muttered quietly.
"The spell will release quicker than we think it will," Michael said. "Get ready, the darkness is gonna puke them out any minute."
The endless darkness that surrounded him usually made Keita feel safe and protected, but now it felt suffocating and threatening.
The Endless Shadow Prison was taking so much power to keep active that he could barely stand. He just needed to keep Apocalypse here while the others came up with some sort of plan. He looked over his shoulder past the darkness, towards the psychical world. The others has regrouped, but didn't seem to be saying anything. He just had to hold out. Just a little longer...
"How long can you keep this up?" Apocalypse's voice came from the darkness. He didn't have direct sight of his prisoner, and he had no intention of revealing himself. If he did, Apocalypse would use Rupture on him and cause what little magic his body had in it to explode.
"As long as I have too," he called, knowing his voice would carry. 'Get comfortable." Apocalypse snorted.
"Don't play dumb, kid," he said. "None of you have the strength to hold a technique like this for long. How much longer can you hold me? A minute? Two?" Keita didn't bother saying anything back, not wanting to get into an argument and waste his strength. "Come on kid, don't kill yourself protecting them. Not worth it. You can ask my buddy your friends are fighting."
"I'm not gonna die," Keita snarled.
"No? How much power have you already used confining me here? Keeping he wrapped up in threads of shadow?" Keita didn't reply again, steadying this breathing. "Not to mention, I imagine an ability like this uses more magic the more powerful your foe is. Let me go."
"No."
"Ugh. Fine, we can stay like this until you drop dead from the exhaustion." Keita grit his teeth hearing this.
"If it keeps you away from Nashi and Elise, so be it," he said. "I don't want you anywhere near them." Apocalypse laughed.
"Oho, protective, are we?" He asked, "you know, you sound just like that guy the girls had with them when I saw them last. He was protective of them too, for all the good it did."
"Don't talk," Keita hissed, "or I'll use what power I have left to kill you."
"You already know you can't," Apocalypse replied. "You saw your friends try. They couldn't do it."
"They aren't me." Another laugh.
"Puff out your chest all you want, boy, it doesn't matter. You can't kill me, because you don't possess what you would need too. That's all there is to it." Keita wiped the sweat from his brow as he struggled to keep his back straight, the power still being drained from him.
"I just need to keep you caged until we find a way out of here," Keita said weakly. "I can do that."
"Better happen in the next few minutes, or you'll drop dead from the exertion. Then I can go back to tormenting my old friends again." This made anger bubble up inside Keita.
"You don't feel bad for what you did to them?" He asked weakly. "No regret at all?"
"It was a lifetime ago," Apocalypse said. "Literally. But no, I don't feel bad at all. One of them needs to die anyway. The other is breaking the laws Zomrus wants humans to follow, so she can die too. Along with the rest of you."
"...I guess you'll have to wait a little longer," Keita said weakly, his head sagging as he tried to keep his eyes open.
"I can feel the shadows fading, boy," Apocalypse leered. "Let me go before it gets too bad."
"I already told you, no..." Keita replied. "I can hold on..."
"Sure you can. Well, drop dead for all I care. I'll take Nashi over your corpse in a few minutes." Keita wanted to reply, but his tongue was starting to feel like lead in his mouth. He just needed to hold on fora few more...A few more min...
"A few more minutes."
The unfamiliar voice made Keita jump a bit, looking around.
"Who...?" He asked weakly.
"I am in your mind, Keita Cheney," The voice said. "I am the woman you've been searching for. I am Mother. We are in the process of opening a gate to you and your friends, but we need a few more minutes to pierce the veil Aether's put around you and the others. Hold on. Just a little bit longer."
The voice faded, and Keita spared a thought to wonder if it had been some sort of hallucination from his exhaustion or real. Even though there was a decent chance it wasn't real, Keita took a deep breath and steeled himself.
Just a few more minutes.
It didn't take Steph long to reach the battlefield Ultear had been on, running past icy trees and ground as she tried to find the girl. She was checking pretty fast, but it was difficult to get a read on Ultear due to all the carnage happening around her.
Stopping in a clearing, she looked around desperately, but saw no one. Just as she was about to run off in a bolt, the nearby bushes rustled and cracked like glass. She turned to see Ultear stumble out of the darkness, looking badly injured. Her clothes had been ripped up, and she had bits and pieces of icy armor covering her as well.
"Ul!" She shouted, running to her friends side. "There you are! How'd you know where I was?" Ultear was panting heavily, but looked up at her. Steph noticed that the disjointed pieces of her right eye's iris were glowing and moving.
"Saw...a future," she said weakly, coughing. "Keiko...Hurt me bad...Used a lot of power...We need to run. It's taking all I have too...Too keep Third Origin active." Steph noticed how the girls power seemed to dim, return, then dim again. They needed to get her somewhere to rest and recharge.
"Not a lot of places to go," she said weakly. "Others are still fighting on the beach, and..."
An explosion went off nearby in the woods, nearly sending both of them into the dirt.
"There's that too," Ultear mumbled, looking over her shoulder. "It's my fault, I should've killed her."
"Not the time to play a blame game," Steph reassured her. "Come on, let's get you to the others and formulate a plan to-"
"Marked One's. Hear me and understand quickly. I am the one you are searching for. I am Mother."
The voice in Steph's head made her freeze. A quick glance at Ultear told her she heard it too.
"You need only hold on for a few more minutes. We are currently opening a gate to you to save you. We need only a few more minutes to get through the veil Aether's put around you. Please hold on, you're almost safe."
The voice did not say anymore, but Steph's ears were ringing loudly.
"Let's hope that's not a trick," Ultear muttered, straightening her back. "Let's get to the others. We're almost home free."
I do plan on updating more frequently from here on out. I hope, anyway. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review if you can!